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LOYALIST COLLEGE ENTREPRENEURIAL STUDIES – BUSINESS LAUNCH STUDENT AWARDED $4,000 FOR START-UP PITCH

March 20, 2017

Belleville, Ontario, March 20, 2017 – Loyalist College is pleased to announce that Brett Lyons, a post-graduate Entrepreneurial Studies – Business Launch (ESBL) student, received $4,000 for Your Mobility Innovations, a start-up pitch he delivered at the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre (DDQIC) Regional Pitch Competition on March 15.

Brett is an inventor who has a passion for developing innovative solutions for individuals with physical disabilities. Through Your Mobility Innovations, Brett plans to help individuals gain mobility and achieve independence.

“The entrepreneurial spirit of Loyalist students is something to be admired,” said Ann Marie Vaughan, Loyalist College President & CEO. “The incredible work Brett is doing is a true testament to how an idea, when nurtured, supported and believed in, can have a life of its own and establish a community to bring it to fruition.”

As part of Your Mobility Innovations, and with support from various factions at Queen’s University, Brett is designing and testing adjustable grab bars to meet the changing needs of those in wheelchairs or seniors with mobility challenges. Project supporters include Queen’s Biomedical Innovation Team; Queen’s Business Law Clinic; Master of Engineering students; and PARTEQ Innovations.

In addition to DDQIC’s award, Brett has access to the DDQIC’s network, while furthering his involvement with various Queen’s and regional groups including, but not limited to, OCE/ONE Network and Kingston’s Launch Lab.

About The DDQIC Regional Pitch Competition

The Competition consisted of a preliminary round, where participants were given two minutes to pitch their business venture and answer three minutes of questions from a panel of judges. In the final round, Brett delivered a five-minute pitch and answered five minutes’ worth of questions from the judges. The judges were members of the DDQIC Global Network in London, England who connected via videoconference from BlackRock along with the DDQIC Executive Team, who were present in the room with the participants.

The DDQIC encourages, enables and supports the innovation activities of students, professors, entrepreneurs and Canadian companies through incubators, accelerators, joint courses, workshops, internship opportunities, seminar series, conferences and business plan competitions.

 About Loyalist College

We put you to work™. When it comes to grads getting jobs, 87.4 percent of the College’s most recent graduates found employment within six months of graduation compared to the provincial average of 83.6 percent, according to Provincial Key Performance Indicator (KPI) results released in April 2016. Located on more than 200 acres in the beautiful Bay of Quinte region, Loyalist College is a close-knit community where students and their success come first. Loyalist provides personalized attention in small classes, rewarding field placements and superior student services. To prepare students for in-demand careers, Loyalist offers more than 65 full-time programs; apprenticeships; and hundreds of online, distance and in-class courses, as well as opportunities for continuing education through more than 70 university transfer agreements. The College’s wide selection of advanced diplomas, diplomas and certificates aligns with market-driven disciplines including applied sciences, biosciences, building sciences, business and management studies, health sciences, human studies, justice studies, media, arts and design, and skills and technology. In Ontario, the College’s new Digital Media Centre and The Bay of Quinte Skills Centre, which is LEED® Silver certified, are training centres of choice for students, as well as College business and industry partners. The College is a key driver of the social and economic health and prosperity of the area and contributes 5.4 percent to the Gross Regional Product. This represents an overall effect on the regional economy of $530 million – based on a 2014 Report by Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI). For more information on the College’s Belleville and Bancroft campuses, visit loyalistcollege.com.

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Contact: Kerry Lorimer, Director, Marketing and Communications, 
Loyalist College, klorimer@loyalistc.on.ca, 613-969-1913 ext. 2536

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