Personalized support

The ACET Boost program offers 25 hours of personalized support over a period of 12 to 24 months, enabling students to develop the foundations of their business and their entrepreneurial spirit. Support is free and includes the following:

• Coaching tailored to the student’s specific needs by a Lead coach and experts in the field
• Evaluation and recommendations by an expert in intellectual property (IP) strategy
• Development of a preliminary plan to achieve company objectives
• Self-assessment of company development
• Access to selected market intelligence services with iA7
• Access to ACET’s regular program of training and workshops
• Practical workshops focused on developing entrepreneurial skills
• Networking meetings between entrepreneurs, experience coaches and ecosystem partners
• Access to meeting rooms and office space

Who is the program designed for?

The ACET Boost program is geared to UdeS students who wish to develop or are currently developing a technology entreprise.

• There is no age requirement to participate in the program;
• All academic levels are eligible;
• All technologies are eligible;
• Most business sectors are eligible.

Program objectives

The ACET Boost program incorporates three key objectives:

• Turn a student into an entrepreneur by helping him/her develop managerial skills on an ad hoc basis through special events (Bootcamp, Open Pitch sessions, etc.): communication, leadership, team development, time and priority management, etc.
• Turn a study project into a technology company by guiding the student in the creation of various components: corporate structure, business model, market assessment, financing strategy, etc.
• Turn a technology into a marketable product by guiding the student in the development of a prototype: from TRL 2-3 to TRL 4+, implementation of an IP strategy, elaboration of a technology roadmap, etc.

Student commitment

By joining the ACET Boost program, a student commits to:

• Being actively involved in the development of his/ her business project, devoting between 3 and 5 hours of work to the project for each hour of coaching received;
• Being fully present during coaching sessions and activities, and being punctual;
• Following up regularly on the progress of his/her business and being transparent in any information provided;
• Attending an annual training day;
• Being open to constructive criticism and demonstrating adaptability and flexibility if changes are necessary for the company’s development.

From pre-incubation to incubation with ACET

Throughout the pre-incubation phase, an evaluation committee made up of members from both ACET and the tech entrepreneurship team at UdeS, assesses the progress of the business project.

Once an entrepreneur completes the ACET Boost program, if he/she has made a full time commitment to developing a business, the ACET selection committee will assess eligibility for the regular coaching program.

To find out more about the selection criteria for ACET’s regular program, consult the “recruitment” section of our FAQ page.