AgENT is an entrepreneurial and innovation extra-curricular activity available to all Lethbridge Polytechnic students. The program can enhance students’ experience and education by developing soft and hard skills.

Networking, emotional intelligence, communication, as well as administrative and operational aspects of business, are some of the competencies the program focuses on. They constitute an essential support to the development of well-shaped professionals and sustainable businesses.

AgENT assists students in developing skills by brainstorming, designing and testing solutions to real-world challenges. They also connect with industry partners to learn new visions, build creative confidence, develop an entrepreneurial mindset and become agents of change.

According to Statistics Canada, “two-in-three new businesses [in the country] do not survive to their fifth year. Business incubators provide space, advice and other support designed to assist new and growing businesses to become established and profitable. There are at least 78 operating business incubators in Canada and their funding totals almost $40 million.”[1]

In this scenario, Mitacs was created as a national organization to connect industry and academic institutions, fostering innovation and turning ideas into solutions to strengthen Canada’s economy and global competitiveness. Therefore, a bustling community of post-secondary entrepreneurial incubators and accelerators has flourished.

Through mentorship, funding, workspace and networking opportunities, programs like Lethbridge Polytechnic’s AgENT are available nationwide. The geographically closest ones are the University of Calgary’s Hunter Hub and NAIT’s Mawji Centre for New Venture and Student Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is more than just starting a business. It’s about turning ideas into action. Joey McLean, AgENT’s student ambassador, emphasizes the advantages of the community created in the program. “With everyone that comes in here, you can have that access to multiple perspectives of curious-minded students, and that really allows you to kind of build and improve upon your solutions,” says McLean.

As school lessons may shape a professional life, participation in projects such as AgENT may lead to unexpected career paths. Joshua Leith is a good example of it. He joined the initiative as a student and became its coordinator, sharing his knowledge and skills to nurture future talents.

“When I got hired on, they knew my previous knowledge, experience, and everything else with the program. And so, they were like, ‘yeah, you’re going to be a great fit to lead it and guide it back to life’. I took the opportunity to pull back a little bit on the agriculture aspect of it and more open it up to all students,” remembers Leith.

As AgENT activities bring external participants, these partners add to the students’ guidance as they innovate and develop problem-solving skills. Leith emphasizes the networking opportunities. “We have a lot of great community partners who come throughout the year to give their feedback, give their support, give that knowledge sharing to our students here,” says Leith.

Daniel Monzon, Catapult Startups’ CEO, is one of AgENT’s partners, responsible for some of the workshops and mentorships. Monzon believes this guidance is important to build creative and strategic confidence among young entrepreneurs and professionals in development.

“We’ve got to start thinking about and set higher expectations for the youth, but also give them support. A program like AgENT gives them the reality check of what is possible and what isn’t,” Monzon states.

For Monzon, such a program can be a kickstart for students and young professionals. Whether it’s starting a venture or building their business persona, whether it’s improving soft skills or learning hard skills related to business operations, the program may save dollars in the future by creating a good foundation.

“It’s much better if you go through a program like Agent for students, which is free, and they can get all the support, so then when they start their business, they’re not making those administrative mistakes that can cost them later,” Monzon argues.

Lethbridge Polytechnic students may benefit from AgENT’s resources during their education, as well as for their career development after graduation. Leith explains that the program can be an asset to the development of businesses and professionals, which is enhanced by its multidisciplinary approach to ideas.

“Not only can they gain [through] potentially starting their own business, being financially independent, but also other skills that we focus on, such as communication. So, it’s building those types of skills, building that collaboration amongst students that you might not usually work with,” the program coordinator declares.

Student ambassador McLean equally stresses the benefits of this complementary education and maturity. He explicitly alludes to the soft skills that may not be fully nurtured in the classroom but grow in a cross-disciplinary environment.

“AgENT teaches a lot of life skills, like public speaking. I’ve found resources here that I didn’t know existed, that are readily available for students. With all the different perspectives from different students, you build quite a vast network of students that can help with your problem-solving and provide perspectives on problems that you didn’t really think of,” he says.

Josh Leith accentuates that these skills will never be lost or unused. “Students who attend the workshops, not only are they going to gain these hands-on skills that they might not get in the classroom, but they’re also going to get to connect with students from around campus, from different program areas, to start collaborating on their ideas, or maybe they’re just there to learn these skills. A lot of these skills are transferable, no matter where you go,” he says.

This free initiative is open to all Lethbridge Polytechnic students throughout the academic year. Community members are also welcome at the meetings and events. More information can be found on leftpolytech.ca/agent.

---

[1] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/88-003-X20060029238