Budding entrepreneurs graduating from Queen’s School of Business will soon receive expertise, resources and even up to $15,000 from the business school, thanks to a $500,000 donation from CIBC announced today.

The CIBC Entrepreneur Development Scholarship Program completes the business school’s innovative Dare to Dream program, which provides three grads each year with three months of financial support, business contacts and advice from Queen’s School of Business faculty as they launch their own business ventures.

“With more than forty per cent of Canada’s GDP driven by entrepreneurial business, we recognize the need to help develop new entrepreneurs and are pleased to continue our long standing support for Queen’s School of Business in this endeavour,” says Dean Chapman, associated vp, CIBC.

Entrepreneur and recent Queen’s MBA graduate Sushee Perumal will be one of the first participants in the program, and will use the internship to launch JetDirect, a private charter airline that will run out of Kingston, Ontario. Shawn Gee, one of the other interns and also a Queen’s MBA graduate, is developing a company that will provide wireless Internet access in Kingston.

“More and more students enter our programs with the goal of developing the skills required to launch their own business ventures, and thanks to CIBC’s historic support, Queen’s School of Business is at the forefront of developing curricula, research and support for entrepreneurs,” says David Saunders, Dean of Queen’s School of Business.

Students interested in the internships submit their business plans as well as a proposal for the three month internship to a selection committee at Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing, a centre of knowledge and expertise in the creation, leadership and management of new ventures, housed at Queen’s. During the three months, the students will receive up to $15,000 in funding, which will be tied to the completion of monthly deliverables, as well as guidance from the new entrepreneur-in-residence at Queen’s School of Business, Dr. Grant Bartlett.

“The Dare to Dream program will dramatically improve the odds of success for Queen’s graduates who possess the entrepreneurial spark and well researched, innovative ideas for new business ventures,” says Elspeth Murray, Director of Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing and CIBC Faculty Teaching Fellow in Entrepreneurship. “Advice from experienced entrepreneurs and introductions to investors are often all it takes to make a venture business dream a venture business reality.”

For more information on the Queen’s School of Business Dare to Dream program, visit http://business.queensu.ca/centres/qcbv/dare_to_dream_internship.php.