A $2-million gift from entrepreneurs\u00a0Eva Lau and\u00a0Allen Lau to the University of Toronto will enable full-time graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty members affiliated with the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering to transform their early-stage ideas into real-world solutions. The two faculties will provide matching funds, doubling the impact of this gift.<\/p>\n
The Eva and Allen Lau Commercialization Catalyst Prize for Computing & Engineering Innovation is designed to bridge the funding gap between the initial phase of an invention and the stage when it becomes an investment-ready venture. The prize will support mentorship, workspace and access to prototyping labs.<\/p>\n
Awarded annually to two teams, one each from Arts & Science and Engineering, the prize targets startup ideas that aim to commercialize technology and material innovations in the computing field, such as semiconductors, AI, robotics and quantum technologies. Projects in more traditional fields such as biotechnology, chemical or mining engineering will be eligible if their core innovations relate to the computing field.<\/p>\n
Students looking to get their ideas off the ground face many challenges, and this award provides the tangible support and boost of confidence they need to succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Eva and Allen Lau Commercialization Catalyst Prize is a testament to the Laus\u2019 leadership in advancing innovation and entrepreneurship in the tech industry,\u201d said Christopher Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at U of T. \u201cTheir gift builds on U of T\u2019s strengths in cultivating entrepreneurial talent and technology-based startups. Students looking to get their ideas off the ground face many challenges, and this award provides the tangible support and boost of confidence they need to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEva and Allen Lau\u2019s generosity is providing a wonderful opportunity to our community of innovators who are working to commercialize game-changing ideas,\u201d added Stephen Wright, interim dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. \u201cWe are grateful to the Laus for championing novel applications of today\u2019s technologies with the potential to change the way we think and live.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs U of T alumni, we are thrilled to launch this new prize to support talented U of T students in commercializing transformative ideas in next-frontier computing and bringing them to market,\u201d said Eva and Allen Lau. \u201cThe university\u2019s research capacity, strong networks and culture of calculated risk-taking for the benefit of society make it an ideal place for aspiring entrepreneurs to turn bold ideas into real-world impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bolstering U of T\u2019s leadership in entrepreneurship<\/p>\n
The prize reinforces University of Toronto\u2019s reputation as an innovation and entrepreneurship powerhouse: U of T is top five in the world for university startup incubators, has created more than 1,200 venture-backed startups and is ranked among the world\u2019s top 10 universities powering global innovation in critical areas like technology, health care, sustainability and economic development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted that Eva and Allen Lau have chosen to support a key stage of the entrepreneurial pipeline that can make all the difference to a student entrepreneur\u2019s success,\u201d said Leah Cowen, vice-president of Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives. \u201cTheir gift provides a generous boost to an innovation ecosystem focused on solving a wide range of challenges with the potential for global impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
The university\u2019s numerous partnerships with key industry players and world-class hospitals, along with its global alumni network, mean U of T entrepreneurs can leverage a wide range of connections to help fulfill the potential of their ideas.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneurs-turned-investors who are making an impact<\/p>\n
Eva and Allen Lau are longstanding U of T volunteers and champions of the university\u2019s entrepreneurial ecosystem.<\/p>\n
Eva Lau holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in industrial engineering from U of T and serves as a member of its Defy Gravity Campaign Steering Committee. Her mentorship and advocacy have played a vital role in supporting the university\u2019s efforts to empower the next generation of innovators.<\/p>\n
Allen Lau earned both his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in electrical engineering from U of T. A visionary entrepreneur, he was inducted into the U of T Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2020, recognizing his outstanding contributions to his field and to the university community.<\/p>\n
The couple co-founded Two Small Fish Ventures \u2013 an early-stage deep tech venture capital firm with a focus on the next frontier of computing \u2013 where Eva is general partner and Allen is operating partner. Allen also co-founded Wattpad, the social storytelling platform where he was CEO and Eva was a founding team member.<\/p>\n
We are thrilled to launch this new prize to support talented U of T students in commercializing transformative ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Eva and Allen Lau for demonstrating the role philanthropy plays in driving innovation and entrepreneurship and serving as inspiration to our broad community of supporters looking to drive meaningful change,\u201d said David Palmer, vice-president of Advancement at U of T.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A $2-million gift from entrepreneurs\u00a0Eva Lau and\u00a0Allen Lau to the University of Toronto will enable full-time graduate students,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[64,63,257,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-152928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-computing","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}