🏔️ From New Orleans to Calgary: Loyola Represents at GCEC 2025

GCEC is an annual gathering of over 250 university-based entrepreneurship centers from around the world. Hosted this year by the University of Calgary, the conference spotlighted the power of higher education to drive innovation, leadership, and community transformation.

Loyola’s team included Sam McCabe (Director), Farah Wells (Program Coordinator), and Dr. Mazhar Islam (Faculty Director) — all representing the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem on a global stage.

🎤 Sharing Our Story: NOEW and IDEAcorps on the Main Stage

Sam and Farah co-presented a breakout session titled: “Universities as Catalysts: How Loyola Reimagined New Orleans Entrepreneur Week.” This session shared Loyola’s experience as the first-time co-producer of NOEW 2025, and explored how academic institutions can lead from the center of their local innovation ecosystems. The talk outlined how the university built a regional coalition, activated campus-wide participation, and curated programming that reflected both the diversity and entrepreneurial energy of New Orleans.

In a separate lightning talk, Sam also introduced the national relaunch of IDEAcorps MBA Consulting Challenge — Loyola’s reimagined case competition designed to pair university MBA teams with real-world startups during NOEW 2026.

🎉 Good news: Speaker applications for NOEW 2026 open soon — and IDEAcorps is actively recruiting MBA teams from across the country.

🌟 Loyola’s Top Takeaways from GCEC

Across two full days of breakout sessions, panels, and meetups, the Loyola team immersed ourselves in conversations that pushed our thinking around entrepreneurship in higher education. While we attended a wide range of sessions, a few stood out as personal highlights:

🎓 Sam McCabe (Director)

• Jesuit Entrepreneurship Center Alliance meetup — an energizing connection point for mission-aligned institutions

• Cross-Campus Microgrants as a Source of Proof-of-Concept Funding

• Entrepreneurship at Warp Speed: Teaching in the Age of AI

🧠 Dr. Mazhar Islam (Faculty Director)

• The Spark That Sticks: Entrepreneurship Education Beyond the Venture

• Redesigning Belonging: Inclusive Entrepreneurship

💡 Farah Wells (Program Coordinator)

• Supercharging Startup Support Through Alumni Communities

• Establishing an Ecosystem of Student-Led Experiential Entrepreneurship Organizations and Clubs

• Rethinking Innovation Ecosystems for a New Generation

Beyond the sessions, Friday night’s dinner and reception at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, provided attendees with a beautiful space to connect, reflect, and celebrate the vibrant community that this conference fosters.

💡 Takeaways & What’s Next

Representing Loyola at GCEC offered the CECD team an incredible opportunity to share our work, connect with peers, and gather new ideas to bring back to campus.

Our biggest takeaway? Entrepreneurship doesn’t just live in business schools — it lives in stories, in pivots, and in purpose. And we’re proud that Loyola is building a platform where all three can thrive.

Stay tuned for speaker applications, MBA team recruitment for IDEAcorps, and announcements for NOEW 2026 — coming soon.

✉️ For questions about our GCEC session, NOEW 2026, or IDEAcorps, contact us at innovate@loyno.edu