Create Centre for Entrepreneurship

LEADING CHANGE AND INNOVATION: THE CREATE CENTRE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Create Centre for Entrepreneurship Opens with supporters from the Office of Research and Innovation, Momentous Campaign and the Create Advisory Board, cutting ribon

At Trent, we believe that entrepreneurial thinking is a mindset. A way of engaging with the world. A drive to lead, solve problems, and shape the future.

That’s the spirit behind the Create Centre for Entrepreneurship, a dynamic space that is reimagining what an entrepreneurship centre can and should be: inclusive, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and student-centred.

This is where entrepreneurial spirit meets social innovation. Here, we develop creative leaders and entrepreneurs who are equipped to succeed in bringing ideas and innovation to life, sustainably and with a view to addressing societal, environmental, and economic challenges.

The Create Centre for Entrepreneurship serves as a connector between students and faculty, existing programming and services at Trent, as well as the business sectors in both Peterborough and Durham. In addition to skill-building and mentorship, students will gain access to networking opportunities, hands-on experiences and curated programming.

Rethinking What It Means to Be An Entrepreneur

Reimagining Entrepreneurial Futures for Every Student

Across the globe, entrepreneurship centres are recognizing a challenge: the vast majority of students are not accessing the supports meant to foster entrepreneurial thinking because they believe these resources are “not for them.” Trent is breaking this mould.

At Create, we are redefining entrepreneurship, broadening it beyond starting businesses to include social innovation, leadership, systems thinking, and real-world impact. Whether students want to launch a start-up, lead change in a nonprofit, or solve environmental challenges within a government agency, Create provides the skills, space, and support to make it happen.

A Platform for Momentous Leadership

Strategically co-located with the Leadership and Democracy Lab, led by Dr. Cristine de Clercy, Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership, the Create Centre for Entrepreneurship blends leadership development with entrepreneurial training.

This partnership acknowledges a key insight: the skills required to lead and to innovate overlap deeply, and learning to work collaboratively is essential in both. Through ideation labs, team-based problem solving, mentorship, and real-world learning opportunities, Create offers future changemakers a powerful experiential complement to their Trent education.

A Place Where Ideas Grow Into Impact

Located in one of the University’s most iconic spaces, Bata Library, Create blends the academic with the applied. It leverages Trent’s strong relationships with alumni, local businesses, and community organizations in Peterborough and Durham. The Centre is designed to meet the evolving needs of students and spark innovation beyond our campus walls.

Future plans include creating a physical space for the Centre at Trent’s Durham campus, linking students more directly with industries and community partners in the Durham Region.

What Are We Doing?

Key Objectives

Where Innovation Meets Precision

Serving as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship where creative ideas meet precise skills, cultivating resilient change-makers and entrepreneurs equipped for any challenge.

Igniting Ideas, Growing Leaders

Fostering ideation, engagement, and networking while encouraging self-discovery, personal development, and an understanding of the fundamentals of entrepreneurship.

Empowering with Tools & Talent

Enabling access to the talent, tools and training needed to solve the complex problems we face today, and in the future, empowering students to become leaders, creators and skill builders, equipped to navigate and excel in real-world challenges.

Collaborations Across Boundaries

Propelling collaborative multi-disciplinary, cross approaches to solution finding, encouraging student collaborations and connections with faculty, alumni, business and community organizations.

Fueling Curiosity & Spirit

Fostering an environment of curiosity and an entrepreneurial spirit, instilling in students a vibrant energy and enthusiasm for innovation.

Support for the Create Centre for Entrepreneurship

The Bata Family Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Centre Endowment

The Bata Family Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Centre Endowment is a permanent annual resource intended to help equip students with the knowledge, tools, experiences and supports to become successful innovators, entrepreneurs and change agents, whether in business, social or environmental innovation. Through the Create Centre for Entrepreneurship, this fund will provide essential support to bring Trent’s existing initiatives together, connect students across various programs, engage with community partners, embed entrepreneurship into programs and classrooms, and develop a wide array of experiential learning opportunities.

Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation

Thanks to a generous gift from Trent alumnus Gavin Marshall ’76, leader of Trent’s Momentous Campaign, Trent University’s Create Centre for Entrepreneurship will stand as a cornerstone in empowering the next generation of leaders. This donation provides support for Create to expand its programming and start-up funding opportunities, provide networking events for students, faculty, and partners and to drive entrepreneurship initiatives through the university community.

Connect with the Centre

Whether you're just beginning to explore entrepreneurial ideas or already working on a project, the Create Centre for Entrepreneurship is here to support you.

Want to learn more? Connect with the Centre and discover how you can turn your ideas into action.

Trent University's Momentous Campaign

The $100-million Momentous Campaign is the boldest fundraising initiative in Trent University’s history—an ambitious call to turn possibility into something momentous. Launched in March 2023, the Campaign supports Trent’s vision for the future: where students are empowered to lead with purpose, research drives real-world change, and physical spaces inspire connection, learning, and innovation.

Support Entrepreneurship at Trent

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