The University of Windsor will host five hundred of Canada’s top young scientists at this year’s weeklong Canada Wide Science Fair (CWSF) that kicks off May 10.

The national science fair will feature finalists from dozens of Regionals across Canada in fields such as biology and engineering.

Included in that roster are five finalists from the Windsor Regional Science, Technology and Engineering Fair (WRSTEF) that took place at St. Clair College in April.

WEtech Alliance is a proud sponsor of both the Windsor Regional and Canada Wide Science Fairs.

“WEtech is all about planting the seeds for our region’s competitiveness in a knowledge economy based on science, technology and innovation,” says Karen Behune Plunkett, the President and CEO of WEtech Alliance.  “For this reason we are excited to play our part in supporting the Canada Wide Science Fair”.

In addition to sponsorship, WEtech is organizing the third annual Practise-Your-Pitch session for the finalists where they can practice their presentations in front of seasoned entrepreneurs led by WEtech’s own Entrepreneur-in-Residence Deborah Livneh.

“Blending science and technology with entrepreneurship is the sweet spot for today’s startups,” says Livneh.

Also taking part in their first Pitch session as mentors will be Daedas—a trio of recent University of Windsor graduates who launched an energy analytics startup company with the help of WEtech’s DeskUP program.

“It’s not enough to discover and patent something.  You have to be able to take it to market and sell it,” says Paolo Piunno, one of the co-founders of Daedas.  “It’s a skill that every young entrepreneur and innovator should have in their toolbox”.

Finally, Dr. Irek Kusmierczyk–who is the Director of Robotics and Youth Programs at WEtech Alliance and organizer of the Practise-Your-Pitch sessions, will volunteer as a judge at the Canada Wide Science Fair.

Last year’s finalist at the Canada Wide Science Fair in Lethbridge, Alberta was Alex Deans—a grade twelve student at Ste. Cecile Academy who was recently named one of Canada’s Future Leaders by MacLean’s Magazine: http://www.macleans.ca/education/canadas-future-leaders-of-2014/

Alex participated in WEtech’s Practice-Your-Pitch session before going on to win top prizes at the Canada Wide Science Fair including a Platinum Award sponsored by Blackberry for his invention of a sonar-based belt that helps people that are visually impaired navigate their world.

“The best part of science is using it to make other people’s lives better,” says Deans.