The 2026–27 Season

Ten events. One arc.

Every event is a step in an eight-month accelerator journey, from your first spark at IGNITION to going public at MERIDIAN. You don't just attend, you progress.

Phase 1 · Mindset

From curiosity to capability.

September – October
Mid-September · 6:00 – 8:30 PM

IGNITION

The year begins here.

The launch. A high-energy kickoff with a VC, founder, intrapreneur, and student builder all on one panel, plus a portrait booth, food, and the full 8-month arc laid out. You're not joining a club. You're enrolling in an accelerator.

UBC CampusKickoff Panel
Early October · 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM

FORGE

Make something real.

A one-day buildathon with UBC engineering design teams. Challenge reveal, build sprint, mentors on the floor, then final demos. Fast, ambitious, and cross-disciplinary.

Maker SpaceBuildathon
Late October · 6:00 – 8:30 PM

INTRAPRENEUR

Build inside the giants.

Innovation leads from Microsoft and Amazon prove that entrepreneurship happens inside big companies too. A sharp panel, plus a Problem Hunt that sends you home with real problems to crack.

Sauder / NestCorporate Panel

Phase 2 · Access

Real rooms, real relationships.

November – December
Early November · 6:00 – 8:00 PM

ORBIT

The startup universe, up close.

A handful of YC alumni founders, some beaming in from San Francisco, some in the room, make the global startup world feel within reach. Keynote, fireside, and a student startup mini-showcase.

HybridKeynote + Fireside
Late November · 6:30 – 9:30 PMFlagship

EDN: Executive Dinner Night

Earned access.

Semester 1's flagship: a candlelit, curated dinner with C-suite executives, founders, and investors. Application-only, with structured table conversations built to go past small talk. The room most students never reach.

Private DiningFlagship Dinner

Phase 3 · Execution

Stop learning, start building.

January
Mid-January · 6:00 – 8:30 PM

E²: Entrepreneurship Squared

Learn how investors think.

Semester 2 opens with how money actually works. A deliberately heated Founder vs. VC panel, then a live pitch clinic where members pitch, get scored, and get feedback on the spot.

Lecture HallInvestor Panel
Late January · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

R&D

Stop talking. Start shipping.

A one-day hackathon inside Microsoft's Vancouver office. Teams pick a real brief in AI, climate, health, or fintech, then get a few hours to ship a working prototype, with mentors on the floor.

Microsoft VancouverHackathon

Phase 4 · Launch

Compete, ship, and go public.

February – March
Mid-February · Full day

APEX: EY Pitchathon

Months of prep. One pitch.

The year's highest-stakes competition, hosted inside EY. Teams pitch on defensibility and sustainability to professional judges. Real setting, real pressure, real prizes.

EY OfficePitchathon
Early March · 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Company Crawl

Walk the floors you want to build.

The most selective event of the year. Thirty students spend a day inside a few startup offices in Downtown Vancouver, meeting founders and seeing the culture from the inside.

Downtown VancouverOffice Crawl
Mid-March · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PMFlagship

MERIDIAN

Where UBC meets the world.

The year-end flagship: a full-day web summit for university students. Keynotes, startup showcases, a pitch competition, investor tables, and a Night Summit across Vancouver. eProjects' annual statement to the city.

VancouverFlagship Conference

Don't miss the launch.

The arc starts at IGNITION in September. Join now so you're in the room from day one.