Carleton University Students’ Association’s (CUSA) entrepreneurship program Hatch hosted the Legacy Conference in collaboration with the University of Ottawa’s Enactus program Nov. 22.
The conference featured keynote speakers, workshops, panels, an expo of startups in Ottawa, and mentorship sessions for students who are interested in starting their own business, according to Hatch director Fahd Alhattab.
“The conference was aimed at students who were interested in entrepreneurship who want to get a feel of the different sectors in the field,” Alhattab said. “Having a variety of different keynotes and panels was a good way of doing that.”
Alhattab added the conference featured different specialized workshops that focused on various aspects of entrepreneurship from sales to design.
“There were different levels of the conference which allowed to lend itself to different groups of students,” he said.
The conference, which took place at the Ottawa Convention Centre, drew 350 students from both Ottawa universities, according to Alhattab. This marks the third annual Legacy Conference, but the first year Carleton participated.
“It was a rather small conference and it was based out of Ottawa U,” Alhattab said. “We figured that we could partner on to a conference that already exists and bring it to the next level, and I think we did just that.”
Tickets were $35 for students—a cost that Alhattab said was subsidized to make it affordable. He added Hatch also focused on delivering a different marketing style for this year’s conference to reach more Carleton students.
This year’s Legacy Conference featured Justin Kingsley, a Canadian entrepreneur labelled as one of the most creative people in the country. Kingsley worked with Adidas, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and developed the 2010 Vancouver Olympics slogan.
Hrishi Mukherjee, third-year computer science student, said he found Kingsley’s speech inspiring.
“The main thing I got out of it is the fact that you have to take the first step, and change your mindset to ‘I’m going to do this’,” he said. “There is risk involved but you have to take it or you will end up regretting not starting up your ideas.”
Mukherjee added he found the conference engaging, informative, and interactive. “I would definitely go again,” he said.
Alhattab said the feedback from students on the conference has been positive. “We had a great turnout and numbers show it,” he said. “We definitely think it will be a long-term partnership with the Enactus team at uOttawa and a long-term partnership in delivering Legacy Conferences to Carleton students.”
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