Each week we will bring in an industry expert to share their knowledge about specific topics in their area of expertise. The sessions will be broken down into roughly 1 hour of discussion time, 30 minutes of workshop or Q & A, then 30 minutes of pitch practice and feedback. This may change depending on the nature of the speaking session and how much time is left over. Each company will have several opportunities to practice their project concept pitch throughout the course and will receive feedback from the weekly speaker.

We will be pairing you with industry experts to learn from their experiences. Each company will be paired with a mentor based on their industry and specific needs. You will then be allotted 10 hours with your mentor. Please give some thought to what you would like to get out of your mentorship engagement by establishing some topics and outcomes you need guidance on. You will get the most value out of mentorship when you come prepared with the right questions to help you understand and reach your next major milestone.

The scheduling of these meetings will be managed between the Mentor and the Mentee based on their own availability and capacity. Please understand that our Mentors are also working professionals and may have restrictive schedules. The 10 hours of mentorship time does not need to be used up within the 12-week period of the Accelerator program.

As part of the accelerator program, we will support you through the registration process for your business. If you already have an incorporated business, you will receive professional guidance and paperwork review to ensure everything is in order. You will get more information on this at our first session on September 3rd.

The minimum attendance for the program is 75% session attendance, or 9 out of 12 sessions. While we will have a virtual component to the weekly sessions for those who are unable to attend, we strongly encourage you to attend in person. If you do not meet the minimum requirements of attendance, you will not be eligible to participate in the pitch competition nor receive any of the program funding.

Sessions will mostly be held in-person at the downtown Calgary Location on either Tuesday or Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm.Sessions will either be held in classroom S7025 which is on the 7th floor of the south tower, or in the Esmail & Safana Bharwani event space (N231) on the second floor of the north tower. For more details, please reference the table below.

The Bow Valley College campus is located in Downtown Calgary. The college has a North and South tower that straddle 6th avenue South.

The Campus address is:
345 - 6 Avenue SE, Calgary AB T2G 4V1

The parkade is located below the south tower and is accessed from 6th ave. Please note that the entrance closes at 7pm. Therefore if you’re not already in the parkade by then, you will not be able to access it. Vehicles that are already parked inside the parkade can still leave at any time. Parking is also NOT free.

Please note that the outside campus doors will be locked at 7pm each evening. Be sure to arrive before that time for easy entry to the college. Once inside, you can leave at any time. If you are unable to make it on time for a session and need to access the college after 7pm, the security staff will need to see this document as proof of your participation in the program. We recommend you keep a copy of this document saved on your phone for easy access. There will be a guard posted at the South tower/C-train doors and at the north campus 6th ave doors.

To contact campus security at any time, call: 403-410-1713