University of Manitoba: Annual Report 1999-2000 -
Student AchievementsUniversity of Manitoba Annual Report 1999-2000

Student Project Creates a ‘Buzz’

The University of Manitoba prides itself on providing a world-class education to many of Canada’s best and brightest students. Four of our students in the past five years have been presented with a Rhodes Scholarship, making us the top recipient of this prestigious award in Western Canada.

What started out as a class project is evolving into a real-life venture for three students in the Faculty of Management. Joel Lemoine, Lindsay Robinson and Brandi Smith teamed together in their New Venture Analysis class for a project that entailed creating a new business and writing a business plan. Competing against other teams in the class, their proposed venture, Alfa-B Pollination Services Inc., was named the winner. The business, which they plan to launch in 2001, will lease leaf-cutter bees to Manitoba farmers looking to improve the yield of their alfalfa seed crops. The group’s research found that by using bees to pollinate alfalfa, the average number of pounds of seed per acre increased from 80 to 350. With the idea and research in hand, they went on to develop a winning business plan for the service.

Dressing in black suits with yellow dress shirts, the students have since gone on to win other venture competitions including the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship competition, the Young President’s Organization Annual Business Plan Award and the Enterprise Creation Competition, the latter based at Oxford University in Miami, Ohio.

U Fact: 169,993 students have graduated from the University of Manitoba during its 123-year history. Of the known living graduates, 67,128 live in Manitoba.

 

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