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Interested in cardiovascular health ideation and research translation? Considering entrepreneurship, but aren’t sure how to get started?
ECHO Discovery is for fourth-year undergraduate students and graduate students enrolled in a Canadian university as well as post-doctoral and clinical fellows affiliated with any Canadian institution. It is designed for those interested in exploring research translation and entrepreneurship within the cardiovascular health sector but who may be unsure how to proceed.
No ideas, start-ups, or previous experience necessary!
Participants must attend an orientation session (January 2024), engage in each program element for six months, and join at least 80% of associated workshops and fireside chats.
We have opened our call for applications for ECHO Discovery’s 2024 cohort — please apply here by Nov. 27th.
ECHO Discovery enables you to:
Our entrepreneurship education program will:
ECHO Discovery is funded and organized by the Translational Biology & Engineering Program and TRANSFORM HF, at the University of Toronto and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.
For more information on the ECHO Discovery program, please contact Andrea Hung: admin.tbep@utoronto.ca
ECHO Discovery is comprised of three foundational elements to support your journey.
In collaboration with MaRs, ECHO Discovery will introduce participants to key aspects of the ideation process through a series of two-hour experiential workshops facilitated by veteran entrepreneurs.
Workshop topics include:
Through a series of intimate fireside chats with successful entrepreneurs and business leaders, participants will:
Each month we’ll have one hour-long Inspire session, planned for both virtual and in-person.
A select group of participants will have the opportunity to shadow a start-up/early commercial stage company for up to 10 hours, and gain valuable insight into launching and running a health/life sciences venture. More details will be shared with participants upon their acceptance into ECHO Discovery.
* For details on each element, please see the ECHO Discovery brochure.
All fourth-year undergraduate students and graduate students enrolled in a Canadian university as well as post-doctoral and clinical fellows affiliated with any Canadian Institution are eligible. Applicants must be interested in exploring research translation and entrepreneurship within the cardiovascular health sector but have limited understanding of how to proceed. No ideas, start-ups, or previous experience are required to participate.
ECHO Discovery trainees are expected to participate in the following from January to June:
No previous experience with startups or entrepreneurship is required.
Benefits of being in the ECHO Discovery program include:
| ECHO Discovery Program | ECHO Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Guides an introductory exploration of research translation and entrepreneurship within the cardiovascular health sector | Provide innovators of cardiovascular technologies with entrepreneurship training, mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities |
| Target Audience | Those with minimal to no experience with ideation, research translation, entrepreneurship, and startup formation | Those who are developing a technology or innovation that they intend to commercialize and/or have a startup within the cardiovascular space |
| Program Duration | 6 months | 12 months |
No, it is not required to complete ECHO Discovery before applying to ECHO. However, it is our hope that some of the participants who complete ECHO Discovery will be able to successfully transition to the ECHO program in the future.
While we hope that some participants of ECHO Discovery will continue on with the ECHO program in the future, we know that is not the only pathway! There are a number of other campus accelerators, incubators and think tanks related to entrepreneurship.
The program will be held virtually with some in-person options.
There are no enrollment costs or fees associated with the ECHO Discovery program.
At this time there is no formal certification with ECHO Discovery.
ECHO Discovery is funded and organized by the Translational Biology & Engineering Program and TRANSFORM HF, at the University of Toronto and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.