How University of Calgary student David Le explored biotech beyond the lab
Finding clarity through policy research during an Experience Ventures placement
As a third-year biomedical sciences student at the University of Calgary, David Le first discovered Experience Ventures at a Hunter Hub information session.
“One of the selling points for me was the honorarium, but also that you got to work alongside a company and see what it’s like in the workforce,” he says.
Experience Ventures is a program powered by the Hunter Hub of Entrepreneurial Thinking at the University of Calgary and funded in part 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.
After exploring available projects, Le joined a team working with New Harvest, a not-for-profit focused on advancing cellular agriculture.
Under the leadership of program manager Miranda Stahn, the project brought together students from different academic backgrounds to assess how Canadian policy supports — or limits — the development of the sector.
It was a departure from the type of research Le was used to.
“In my program, research is scientific — reading papers and understanding the science,” he says. “Here, it was policy research, looking at how the government, universities, and nonprofits support or hinder development.”
Working remotely, the team organized the project into focus areas, ranging from economics to public perception. Le contributed a perspective rooted in science communication and the biotechnology pipeline.
Together, the team produced a 10-page white paper, and the students were credited for their work.
“They were very engaged,” Stahn says. “They divided the work among themselves and took ownership of the project, which made my job easy.”
She notes that one of the most important skills the team developed was the ability to ask strong, critical questions and support their conclusions with evidence.
“They really learned how to investigate deeply, form opinions, and back them up,” she says. “They came up with strong conclusions that we’ve already used when speaking to government.”
Le’s contribution stood out in particular.
“He introduced ideas that added an entirely new section to the paper that I hadn’t originally planned,” Stahn says. “He brought a different perspective that really strengthened the project.”
“Each of us analyzed different parts, and seeing how interconnected they were was really satisfying,” Le says. “Knowing it could influence policymakers made it even more meaningful.”
The experience also helped him reassess his future in biotechnology. He now plans to pursue medical school, with an interest in potentially becoming a clinician-scientist.
“Understanding how decisions are made will be useful if I’m ever in a role where I need to influence those decisions,” he says.
For Stahn, the project highlights the broader value of programs like Experience Ventures, both for students and the organizations they join.
“It gives students the opportunity to engage with a new field and develop skills, but it also allows them to bring that perspective back into the world,” she says. “Gen Z brings a different perspective, especially around technology and efficiency, and that’s incredibly valuable.”
For Le, that combination of hands-on experience and exposure to new ways of thinking is what makes the program worthwhile.
“Working is completely different from studying,” he says. “You’re creating something new or contributing to something new.”
It’s an experience he would recommend to students in any field of study.