2017 BDC Engage Symposium

Engaging students, faculty and industry partners– the aptly named BDC Engage Symposium, held on Monday, April 10th, marked a successful end to the program’s 2016-2017 academic year. The event allowed students at all academic levels to showcase their accomplishments, celebrating achievements from the team start-up course, thesis projects, and graduate internship experiences.

BDC Engage marked the first encounter of many in the third-year cohort with poster presentations. One of the main challenges they faced included proposing a commercial aspect of their research-based course and pitching it in the form of a startup company, as it demanded that students equip themselves with the creativity required to succeed in future entrepreneurial endeavors – a rare out-of-the-classroom opportunity.

The event also displayed the diverse experiences offered from three separate years and perspectives of the program. “As a third-year student, BDC Engage gave me insight on how we might develop both academically and collectively in our upcoming years as BDC students,” said Shaili Champaneria, the incoming BDC society president for the 2017-2018 academic year.

With convocation fast approaching for the fourth-year BDC students, others saw the sentimental value in an event that unified BDC students across different years by program. “[BDC Engage] was a great way to finish the academic term,” said Madeleine Rudolph, a fourth year BDC student and the outgoing BDCS president of the 2016-2017 academic year. “My favorite part of the day was getting to see how tightly-knit the student community is. I love knowing that I can leave the position of BDCS President having contributed, even if just minimally, to the presence of community in our program.”

The BDC Society would like to thank the BDC program for a fantastic academic year and wishes everyone a happy summer!