🔥 Learn, build, and pitch in March

March is buzzing at COIE! From hands-on VR Immersive Lab to Destech Workshop, bookclub workshops and the COIE Demo Day: All-Star Pitch Competition (win big with multiple prizes), it’s a month packed with innovation, pitching, and changemaking.

Building the Changemaker community 🙌

🤝 Global Partner Event: Thank you to Centennial College’s International Team for inviting COIE. Under Dean Jonathan Hack’s leadership, we shared why Centennial is a top choice for students and how we prepare them for future success through innovation and entrepreneurship.

🌏 Thank you to Centennial College’s International Office Team for inviting COIE to the Forum on Educational Exchanges between China and Canada. COIE was honoured to perform a bilingual song in English and Mandarin, celebrating cultural exchange through music.

COIE Demo Day is back 🏆 Pitch to Win!

COIE Demo Day is Back! Demo Day Winter 2026: All-star Pitch Competition 📅 Tues Mar 31 | 12- 2:30 pm (Doors open at 11:45 am)​ 📍 8th Floor Event Center, Progress Campus, Centennial College 🍽️ Refreshments provided ​🔗 Register Now​

Showcase and sell your idea, connect with industry experts, compete for awards, and access free mentorship & poster printing (for Centennial students, faculty, and staff)!

This time, we're changing things up! 👀

• Round 1 will be a booth-style showcase of your startup idea, business or project. Our attendees and judges will be walking around, chatting with you and getting to know what you're showcasing.
• Round 2 will be a 3-minute pitch competition where the judges will choose specific teams from the booth-style showcase to advance and pitch to the judging panel.

What awards can you win?

• Round 1: 🛍 Best Booth & 💫 Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
• Round 2: 🏆 Judges’ Choice & ⭐ People’s Choice Awards

Don't have a business or project to pitch? Join our general audience!
​Support our student, alumni and community entrepreneurs, vote for your favourite pitch, and enter the lucky draw! 🎁

Check out the COIE Demo Day Fall 2025 ​event recap from last year!

Apply to showcase your venture idea, startup or project by March 20!

​🔗 Apply now​

Immersive Innovation Lab 😉

🎮 VR Workplace Ready & Interview Studio recap: COIE hosted the second VR Workplace Ready & Interview Studio session, engaging 12+ students in person through hands-on, immersive learning. A special thank you to our guest speaker Sophie Jiang (Founder of MoVa Realties), for sharing about her entrepreneurial journey.

Next up (last one of the semester!)... VR Public Speaking Studio! Build confidence and stage presence through immersive VR public speaking practice, and sharpen your presentation and speaking skills. 📅 Mon Mar 16 | 1-3 pm 📍Progress Campus ☕ Light refreshments ​🔗 Register Now​

Introducing our newest: Destech Studio 💫

Want to learn to how to visualize a product idea to create beautiful visuals?

📢 ​Our newest series introduces a hands-on Design x Technology (Destech) workshop focused on transforming an existing product concept into a fully realized brand and market-ready experience using contemporary AI workflows.

Destech Studio 01 Brand Physical Products with AI workflows 📅 Wed Mar 18 | 12-4 pm 📍Progress Campus ☕ Light refreshments ​🔗 Learn more & register​

Participants will learn how to think beyond the pitch deck and approach entrepreneurship as a designed system—combining storytelling, brand identity, visual design, and rapid AI prototyping. Working in teams, you will develop a product narrative, build a cohesive brand system, generate professional product visuals, and create a scrollytelling product webpage.

Through guided exercises and demonstrations, the workshop introduces core Design Thinking tools such as personas, narrative arcs, Gestalt principles, and emotional design alongside node-based AI tools including Krea, Weavy, Canva AI, and FigMake.

🤩 By the end of the workshop, participants will have:

• A defined product and brand identity
• AI-generated product visuals and lookbook
• Brand systems and design assets
• A complete product webpage prototype

​Limited spots available – register today!​

Weekly virtual workshops in March 👀

Other Programs with COIE 😊

Ending soon: free Coursera license! 📝

🚨 The Coursera for Careers program only runs until March 13 at 11:59 PM! Sign up now for the remaining FREE Coursera period (normally $82/month)!

Coursera is a world leader in providing flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide:

• Learn 100% online at your own pace, from anywhere in the world.
• Receive certifications that are recognized by top employers in the world.
• Access high-demand certifications in fields like Data Analytics, AI, Cybersecurity, Project Management, and more.
• Gain job-ready skills with training from leading global organizations.
• Get access to career coaching, resume-building workshops, and networking opportunities.

​Last chance – sign up now!​

Innovation News & Opportunities🤝

Buzzword Breakdown 🧐

Who are Angel Investors? Angel investors are high-net-worth individuals who provide early-stage, seed-level capital to startups, typically using their own money in exchange for equity or convertible debt. Often successful entrepreneurs themselves, they offer "smart money" by contributing industry expertise, mentorship, and networks to support business growth.

Angel investing in Canada. There are an estimated 20,000-50,000 individuals or groups in Canada who are actively investing in start-ups. According to the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO)’s 2021 Report on Angel Investing in Canada, only 6% of entrepreneurs who initially approached structured angel groups for investment received funding. Entrepreneurs who do not receive funding, however, often receive valuable feedback and access to a network that can help them become investment-ready. They may also be directed to more appropriate sources of financing.

Source: BDC​

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⬆️ Why VCs and Angel Investors Say "No" to entrepreneurs | TEDx Talks​

Book Recommendation of the Month📚

NEXT BOOK CLUB SESSION for "The Brand Gap": What Makes You Irreplaceable? A Book Club Activity for Your Personal Brand 📅 Wed March 25 | 5:15 - 6 PM​ 📍Virtual (Microsoft Teams) 👨🏻‍💼Speaker: Pat Robinson​ 🔗 Register now​

Join our major on-site events in March for a chance to win a free book 📚

Stay Connected 📩

Graduated recently? Don’t miss out on future updates, opportunities, and events from Centennial Innovates. Ensure you update your email so we can keep in touch after you leave campus!

👇 Follow us on socials to stay in the loop, or subscribe to our COIE 2025-26 Event Calendar!

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