Ignite Career Conference

The Ignite Career Conference is an annual event open to both students and alumni of Fanshawe College. Designed to inspire and empower attendees, the conference features keynote speakers, dynamic workshops, and networking opportunities focused on career development, personal branding, and entrepreneurial success. Participants can engage with industry experts, connect with like-minded peers, and tailor their experience by selecting workshops aligned with their career goals. Best of all, Ignite is completely free to attend, offering valuable insights, professional growth opportunities, and complimentary meals.

Ignite takes place yearly in November. Check back for updates in Fall 2025.

Ignite 2024: A Decade of Empowering Futures

Ignite 2024: A Decade of Empowering Futures

The 10th annual Ignite Career Conference took place in 2024, celebrating a decade of empowering students and alumni in their career journeys. This year’s event featured inspiring keynote speakers and workshops covering networking, personal branding, and entrepreneurship. Attendees enjoyed a day of learning, connecting, and professional growth, with surprises throughout the event. Registration was required, though seating was available on a first-come, first-served basis. To enhance the experience, complimentary snacks and lunch were provided, featuring burgers and fries with beef, chicken, and veggie options.

Keynote Speakers

Ian Tyson

Silver Lining Prospecting: The Power of Choices in Finding Your Positivity

Veteran speaker and author Ian Tyson takes you on an energetic, humorous and inspiring journey from our collective childhoods forward to today, finding the lessons to be mined in a myriad of situations.

Ian is passionate about the power of Choices, Mindset, Gratitude, Optimism and Resilience and will show the audience how to achieve them all in small bites each day. With practical tools, personal stories and his trademark storytelling style, this presentation will leave your mind racing about all you can do to regain control in your life and find your own “Silver Lining”.

Settle in for an entertaining trip to alter your Mindset, and see why Ian has built a 35-year career helping audiences find Motivation and Positivity.

Sean Aiken

What Makes You Come Alive?

After graduating as class valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA, Sean Aiken found himself overwhelmed by the pressure and expectations placed on him by parents, teachers, peers, and society. Faced with uncertainty and anxiety about his future, Sean transformed his fear into an inspiring quest: to work 52 jobs in 52 weeks across North America in search of his passion.

In this keynote, Sean describes how he came up with the idea for The One-Week Job Project, the various adventures his journey took him on, and imparts the valuable life and career lessons he discovered along the way to help students navigate the challenging transition from school into the working world.

Workshops

Startup to Success: The Entrepreneurial Journey

Nicole Haney
Business Coach, Professor, and Professional Speaker

Are you interested in starting your own business? Join us for this informative and inspiring session on the entrepreneurial journey!

Led by Nicole Haney, Business Professor at Fanshawe and Former CPG Founder, this session walks you through three key things that will contribute to your success as an entrepreneur.

Improve for Everyday Life

Shut the Front Door

STFD Improv is a community of laughter-seekers, creativity enthusiasts, and advocates for mental health. Through our dynamic performances, engaging classes, and commitment to community impact, we’re redefining what it means to experience improv.

The workshop will be a 1-hour intro to improv. Attendees will be introduced to the fundamentals that make improv techniques great for everyday life including icebreakers, 3 rules of improv and take home techniques for effective communication.

STFD has performed with comedy greats Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Second City), Patrick McKenna (Red Green Show), Naomi Snieckus (CBC's Mr.D,Saw 3), Laura & Rick Hall (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) over the past decade.

What Do You Want to Be Known For? Building Your Personal Brand

Melissa Maloney
Co-founder AWL Partners and Vice President TechAlliance

In today's digital age, personal branding is more important than ever. This workshop, titled "What Do You Want to Be Known For? - Building Your Personal Brand," will guide participants through the essential steps of creating a compelling personal brand. Attendees will learn how to identify their unique strengths, craft their personal "WHY," identify their “three things” they want to be known for, and leverage these elements to elevate their careers.

Connecting for Career Success

Christine Wilton
Director, Workforce Development

Get ready to ignite your networking skills with Christine Wilton, Director of Workforce Development at the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC). Christine will share insider tips on how to build meaningful connections, leverage your student experience, and open doors to dynamic career opportunities in London and beyond. Whether you're just starting or looking to refine your approach, this session will energize you, boost your confidence and make networking fun!

Don’t miss out—your future career connections start here!