From L to R: Michael Benarroch, President of the University of Manitoba; Wayne Chiu; Anne Mahon, Chancellor of the University of Manitoba
“By focusing on creating positive change in the world we can create more sustainable and resilient communities which, in turn, create more opportunities for growth and success.” –Wayne Chiu
The honorary degree is the highest honour the University of Manitoba can confer upon an individual for distinguished achievement in scholarship, the arts, or public service. During Spring Convocation 2023, honorary degrees were bestowed upon six exceptional individuals including Wayne Chiu, Founder of The Trico Charitable Foundation (TCF) and Trico Group. We are unbelievably proud of his accomplishments and inspired by his constantly evolving vision of how business models can serve society!
The honor was a bit of a homecoming for Mr. Chiu as he received an Engineering Degree from the University of Manitoba after immigrating from Hong Kong.
The official announcement of the honorary degree explains that Wayne had an epiphany during a Thailand tsunami that leading him to eventually create TCF “that focuses on social entrepreneurship to use business to solve problems in society”. Here are a few key quotes from Wayne’s acceptance speech:
- “Entrepreneurs think outside of the box by applying technical knowledge to new and innovative ideas.”
- “We need more entrepreneur engineers to address social challenges in the world (inequality and climate change) with creative solutions to these problems. This is where the concept of social entrepreneurship comes in. Social entrepreneurship is about using entrepreneur skills to create positive social change. It is about doing well by doing good in the communities.”
- “As engineers or architects you have the ability to use the technical skills and the problem solving abilities to create product and services that benefit society. And as an entrepreneur you have the drive and ambition to bring those ideas to life.”
- “For me, social entrepreneurship has been a driving force throughout my career. No matter what we do we have the community in mind.”
- “I firmly believe that doing well by doing good is not only the right thing to do it is also good for business.”
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