Our History

First established in 2017, the Hunter Hub was born from a transformational gift from the Hunter Family Foundation. As entrepreneurs themselves, Doug and Diane Hunter sought to create a hub dedicated to fostering entrepreneurial thinking and innovation while empowering the leaders of tomorrow.

"Entrepreneurial thinking is what the Hub is all about," Doug said. "When I graduated — when Diane graduated — I don't think I had even heard the word 'entrepreneur.'"

For the Hunter family, embracing entrepreneurship shaped their lives profoundly. "Finding a way to help other people along that same track and make it work — that's what we wanted to do," Diane said. Thus, their donation saw the establishment of the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking, the heart and soul of entrepreneurship here at UCalgary.

The Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking seeks to embed entrepreneurial thinking within the UCalgary landscape for students and researchers, simultaneously supporting the community and strengthening the Canadian economy.

Our mission is to cultivate and support game-changing innovators and changemakers, helping to accelerate their ideas from conception to impact. Students, researchers, and faculty from across the university are encouraged to take part in our events and programs, no matter where their careers take them. Our goal is to see entrepreneurial thinking used by leaders and in organizations across the country, allowing early-stage ventures to grow and established organizations to adapt and innovate to thrive in an ever-changing world.

By instilling entrepreneurial thinking in students, researchers, and the community, we help our community advance in their careers while also helping to bolster the Canadian workforce by creating future-ready leaders.