Enactus Memorial is once again heading to the world cup after winning its 10th national title last week.
Memorial University defeated teams from Saint Mary’s University, Ryerson University and the University of Ottawa in the final round to win the title and the Tim Hortons Cup at the Enactus Canada National Exposition in Vancouver, B.C., on May 12.
“It’s always an incredible feeling to be recognized for the work we’re doing and it really assures the team that we’re on the right track,” said Taylor Young, a vice-president with Enactus Memorial.
“The judges we present to are experts in their field, and when they give us positive feedback, it can be the extra push we need to keep working. If these judges trust that we’re onto something, then we know we need to keep going with it.”
Winning project
In 2016 Enactus Memorial won the Canadian national championship and the Enactus World Cup with a focus on its hydroponics project, Project Sucseed.
This year, the team opted to focus on further developing Project Sucseed instead of creating a new project.
“It was definitely a risk to show up with the same project but it was a story worth sharing and therefore a risk we had to take.”
“We had a story to share about Project Sucseed and just how far it’s come in such a short about of time,” said Ms. Young, a commerce student at the Faculty of Business Administration.
“It was definitely a risk to show up with the same project but it was a story worth sharing and therefore a risk we had to take.”
A story of impact
Project Sucseed was created to address food insecurity in Canada’s North through small-scale hydroponics.
The systems use 90 per cent less water than traditional agricultural means, can produce up to 480 pounds of produce per year and run just $105 in annual operating costs.
Last year, Project Sucseed sold 512 hydroponics systems and employed 14 people, and the systems were in use in 13 co-ops, 102 classrooms and 104 communities.
Revenues have grown from $13,334 in 2016 to $201,729 in 2017 – a number that is expected to reach $1 million next year.
“The need for access to fresh, affordable produce is Canada-wide and magnified tremendously when you go to the North.”
Prof. Lynn Morrissey, faculty advisor for Enactus Memorial, says the project’s growth stands for itself in terms of assessing its impact.
“It has exceeded all of our expectations, and I really think there’s so much more potential for what we can do with this project,” she said.
“To me, it speaks to the need. The need for access to fresh, affordable produce is Canada-wide and magnified tremendously when you go to the North.”
Compacting the story of Project Sucseed into a 17-minute presentation was the team’s biggest challenge, she adds.
“If anything, we had too much to tell. Our results were so big and so far-reaching that our challenge was to cut it all down and still make sure that we had an opportunity to really show just how great that reach and impact was.”
Recognition for individuals, topic teams
Sixty-one teams from post-secondary institutions across Canada competed at the national championship, all showcasing projects that enable social, environmental and economic progress through entrepreneurial action. More than 1,200 delegates attended.
In addition to the Tim Hortons Cup, Enactus Memorial was the first runner up in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, second runner-up in the Scotiabank EcoLiving Green Challenge the first runnerup for the 2017 Hellmann’s Food Security Challenge. The Grenfell Enactus team won a Spirit of Enactus Award — its third in five years of competition — which recognizes teams with “a unique and promising spirit.”
Ms. Young and Abigail Ricketts were also awarded Founder’s Bursaries from the John Dobson Foundation, which recognize and celebrate students who have demonstrated superior leadership and team development skills.
Enactus Memorial will compete at the Enactus World Cup, slated for Sept. 26-28 in London, England.
Memorial previously won the Enactus World Cup in 2008 and 2016. It’s the only Canadian team to ever win the international competition.
