U of M’s annual entrepreneurial event, Better Together, will return for its third year on Feb. 17 at Marshall McLuhan Hall, continuing an initiative that brings students, faculty and staff together to strengthen problem-solving skills and address campus challenges.

Since its launch, the event has drawn more than 150 members of the U of M community over the past two years. Organizers say the initiative is designed to help participants build entrepreneurial competencies while working collaboratively on issues relevant to campus life.

The event seeks to “develop the entrepreneurial thinking skills […] thoughtfully designed for faculty, staff and students.”

While often associated with entrepreneurship, the event is not centred on launching businesses.

Janine Carmichael, faculty specialist for entrepreneurship at the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL), emphasized that the focus is broader in scope. “Better Together is not a conference [nor] about building businesses,” she said.

Rather than business development, the emphasis is placed on mindset and approach. “The focus is all about learning to think like an entrepreneur in finding problems worth solving and solutions worth building,” Carmichael said.

The event is open to participants from all academic disciplines and levels of study, creating opportunities for collaboration across fields. Organizers note that this structure allows participants to learn from one another while engaging with new perspectives.

Carmichael stated the learning environment is intentionally designed to be accessible. “Participants will see entrepreneurial thinking in many contexts […] All in a safe and welcoming learning community,” she said.

Each year, Better Together adopts a different theme to guide its activities and discussions. For the 2026 edition, the focus will be on peace. Carmichael said the theme aligns with a significant milestone at the university. “This year [the theme] is on everyday peace to celebrate the 20th anniversary of [the] peace and conflict studies [department] at [U of M],” she said.

The event will also feature three panelists from different disciplines. Carmichael said, “[the guests] are deeply connected to U of M [who] are applying entrepreneurial thinking in unique ways to solve unique problems.”

In addition to panel discussions, participants will engage in hands-on activities throughout the day. These activities are designed to simulate real-world problem-solving within a campus context. “Participants will team up to tackle a real campus challenge… that can make meaningful impact,” Carmichael explained.

The structure of the event emphasizes experiential learning over theory-based instruction. “We [do not] want participants to leave having learned ‘about’ entrepreneurship [but rather to] learn through it,” she said.

Carmichael also pointed to the time-sensitive nature of the activities as a key component of the experience. “The timeline makes it an exciting challenge to practice skills we are learning,” she said.

Beyond the event itself, she added the skills developed through Better Together are transferable while noting that the skills participants gain can be applied “in many contexts.”

Students who may be uncertain about attending are encouraged to participate. “Come give it a try [and] you [will not] be disappointed,” Carmichael said. “It is very possible that you might make some new friends.”

To incentivize participation, students who attend the full-day event will receive a $50 gift card to UMSU businesses, while faculty and staff participants will also receive a gift.

Registration is required to participate in this year’s event, as spaces are limited. To secure a seat, register via https://umcatl.vfairs.ca/en/CATL-sessions