GRADCONNECT2026: Tech Trivia Night
Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Montreal, Canada
In personClosing the gap between academia and the VC ecosystem. This year, with trivia.
GradConnect is back! This year, Front Row Ventures and BoxOne Ventures are trading panels and roundtables for a trivia night. Grad students, founders and investors will team up over questions on startups, science and Montreal, then stay to keep the conversation going.
🎲 How it works
Teams are randomized when you arrive, so you’ll be playing alongside grad students, founders and investors you haven’t met. Over 4 to 5 rounds we’ll cover startups, research and Nobel history, Montreal, and pop culture. There’s a live scoreboard all night, and the winning team takes home an FRV × BoxOne swag bag.
🕕 Schedule
6:00 PM · Arrivals and networking
6:30 PM · Trivia
7:30 PM · Winners announced 🏆
7:45 to 9:00 PM · Networking
🎤 Speakers
Founders
Madison Santos · Co-founder & CSO, TissueTinker (2SLGBTQIA+ Investment Award, Startupfest 2026)
Investors & ecosystem
Humza Salam · Investor, Amplify Capital
Antoine Jutras-Carignan · IP & Venture Strategy, Axelys
Kyla MacLean · Lab-to-Startup Program, Cycle Momentum
Hamza Nabiel · Analyst, Telegraph Ventures
🧠 The rounds
Startup origin stories, Nobel-winning science, Montreal metro stations and the great bagel debate, plus a pop culture round to keep things fair.
👋 Who it’s for
Grad students from any discipline who are curious about where their research could go beyond academia
Founders, VCs, incubators, accelerators and ecosystem partners: this is your chance to engage directly with emerging talent from Quebec’s top universities and startups
🍽️ Light bites and drinks provided.
🎟️ Registration is limited, so grab your spot.
About the hosts
Front Row Ventures (FRV) is Canada’s leading university-focused and student-operated VC firm, with a presence on 20+ campuses across the country. FRV invests early and across industries, backing high-impact student entrepreneurs with ambitious technology-enabled ideas.
GRAD2VC, an FRQ-funded fellowship, lets graduate students
18:00 · Free · FestivalDetails →