How Mikayla Chiappetta turned campus challenges into creative confidence
Experience Ventures gave this science student a new perspective — and a platform to lead
A simple email invitation turned into a multi-year journey for Mikayla Chiappetta.
Like many students starting university in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was eager to stay connected.
“We got an email about Brilliant Catalyst doing a challenge,” she says. “They advertised it as a way to network, make friends, and get real-world experience — and I thought, why not?”
The Brilliant Catalyst entrepreneur hub at Ontario Tech was one of the reasons Chiappetta had chosen the university, and she joined her first Catalyst challenge during her second year of studies.
The annual ideathon is organized in partnership with Experience Ventures — a program powered by the Hunter Hub of Entrepreneurial Thinking at the University of Calgary and funded by the Government of Canada’s Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative (I-WIL). The program’s goal is to enable college and university students to practice entrepreneurial thinking alongside real-world innovators.
“We didn’t win, but we did really well,” Mikayla says. “It was an experience I’d never had before. My degree was very textbook-focused — bio, chemistry, memorization — but this gave me practical skills I could use every day.”
That first experience was enough to bring her back again and again. Whenever a new challenge was announced, she would sign up. In later competitions, her teams began placing in the top three, and Chiappetta’s competitive spirit kicked in.
“You kind of like that feeling of winning,” she laughs. “When you get that little taste of victory, you’re like, ‘Okay, let’s do it again.’”
Over time, Mikayla took on more responsibility in her team projects, often leading her team’s presentations and contributing to key decisions.
Her most recent project, MedRoute, was developed through a Catalyst Challenge focused on improving health systems in the Durham region. A biological science student, she found herself on a multidisciplinary team with peers studying business and technology.
“We worked really well together because we come from different disciplines,” she explains. “We decided to create MedRoute, which would be an AI or web-based platform to direct people to the correct help they need, depending on their situation.”
The application’s goal was to reduce ER wait times and unnecessary hospital visits.
Her biology background gave her some insight into healthcare systems, but the project allowed her to stretch beyond her academic training.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel I used my degree a whole lot,” she says. “It was more my experience in previous challenges that helped. I ended up doing the creative work — the prototype for the website, the logo, the PowerPoint, and the actual public speaking.”
Mikayla credits these challenges for helping her develop core skills she didn’t get from coursework.
“They don’t really teach you how to present properly in school. You need a hook. You need to tell a story. Keep your audience engaged. These are the kinds of things I learned through Catalyst.”
Her experience culminated in a memorable moment during graduation.
“The president actually highlighted my name in his speech with regards to the Catalyst Challenge. That was amazing.”
Another highlight of her final event was the opportunity to engage with industry mentors.
“We had a day where — once our MVP was kind of on paper — a bunch of industry leaders came in and gave one-on-one advice. They asked questions we hadn’t thought of. It really helped us refine our idea.”
That kind of access to real-world innovators made a lasting impact.
“You get one story from the news, but you’re not getting the other side. We got to hear from surgeons, hospital managers, and nurses. There’s so much more going on behind the scenes. That helped us shape our project to really resonate with people.”
She recommends getting involved in campus challenges to anyone looking for growth and community, and shared how participating has shifted how she thinks about her future.
“So much so that I’ve been debating pursuing a master’s in business,” she says. “It really opened my eyes to how big the world is. There’s so many more options than doctor, lawyer, vet, nurse. You need creative people who create job opportunities for others.”