Now in its fourth year, the Future Leaders Entrepreneurship Camp is a week long summer camp for high school teens.
Set to go down later this summer at the MaRS Discovery District, teens between the ages of 13 and 18 will have the opportunity to learn what it means to be a self-starter as they go about trying to build their own business.
At the end of the week, one group will even win $1000 after presenting their business to a group of mock investors.
"What’s unique about this program is that we provide our students with an interactive environment where they're able to go through the entrepreneurial process. We want them to realize that failure is opportunity to pivot and improve," says Marielle Voksepp, a manager at MaRS and one of the overseers of the program.
According to Voksepp, students are taught skills like critical thinking, goal-setting, team work and perseverance as they go through the program.
As with any program of this sort, Voksepp says she doesn't expect every teen that goes through it will end up starting their own company. However, she do say that the skills she and her colleagues are trying to impart upon the students will be helpful in a wide variety of situations.
"Even if they decide not to become entrepreneurs, we want to provide these students the skills and resources that foster an entrepreneurial mindset," she says. "If they become critical thinkers, problem solvers and good communicators at an early age, then they’ll have a better chance of achieving success at whatever they decided to do in the future."
Parents that are interested in learning about the Future Leaders Entrepreneurship Camp can
check out the program's website.