Business Minor Spotlight: Nitya Anand
When Nitya Anand volunteered at Credit Valley Hospital as an Emergency Department Care Centre Volunteer, she quickly noticed something that stuck with her. Even with strong clinical care, hospital systems could feel chaotic, especially when it came to patient flow and coordination. Through conversations with nurses, Anand heard a common wish: they wanted stronger business knowledge to move into leadership roles and help improve how care is managed. That experience pushed her toward the Minor in Business, Science and Entrepreneurship at IMI, where she could explore the intersection between business and healthcare.
Anand says the minor helped her think beyond the science of an idea and focus on what it takes to make it realistic, workable, and sustainable. This has been especially valuable alongside her Biomedical Communications Minor and her research work focusing on a rapid review on diabetes-related biosensing contact lenses for glucose monitoring published in May 2026 in SPARK Health, a student-run peer-reviewed journal at the University of Toronto. In her work, she evaluated the accuracy, feasibility, and clinical limitations of emerging non-invasive glucose monitoring technologies, with a focus on how these innovations translate into real-world healthcare applications. The project was supported with mentorship and guidance from Alexandra H. Marshall (University of Toronto; Marshall Medical Communications), whose contributions were integral to the development of the study. For Anand, being exposed to business concepts made her more aware of feasibility, testing, approval steps, and financial planning, all of which matter when turning health technologies into real solutions.
One of Anand’s most memorable experiences in the minor was IMI400, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In the course, she worked in a team to build and pitch a venture idea, including the financial planning behind it. Her group’s concept, SectorOne, focused on a unified data platform designed to streamline fragmented telemetry, video, and performance data workflows for motorsport teams, enabling faster and more reliable data-driven decision-making. It won first place in a class competition and was presented to a panel of mock investors that included the IMI400 instructor, Paul Chipperton, the course’s TA and the Program Assistant. After deliberations, they announced the winners through a sea of ‘drumrolls’ made by the class with hands on desks. “Winning the pitch competition was incredibly rewarding. Our idea evolved a lot from the beginning, we were constantly refining the problem, improving our solution, and learning how to present it in a way that was clear and engaging. Going into the final pitch, I was nervous, but it pushed me to communicate more confidently. It was also really exciting to work with a team from different academic backgrounds, because each perspective made the idea stronger.”
Outside the classroom, Anand stays involved inside and outside of UTM. Some of her extracurriculars include research, leadership, and community spaces. She has volunteered in the Ramsey Lab, served as a UTM Orientation Leader, and tutored many students over the years across multiple subjects. Anand is also a fantastic artist and completed a Work-Study position at the Centre for Student Engagement (CSE) as a Graphic Designer, taken on projects that involve social media and other design elements.
During some of her scientific exploits, Anand works at the Ramsey Lab, under Dr. Monica Ramsey (Assistant Professor, Anthropology), where she supports research workflows by examines phytolith image datasets, applying classification methods, and maintaining quality control standards to improve data consistency for machine learning-based analysis. Through this work, she has gained insight into how data and emerging technologies can be used to better understand complex problems. She participated in the IMI Frontiers of Innovation Conference, where she is developing a research-based poster on the role of quantum computing in drug discovery. During the UTM Sustainability week in March, Anand and her team won a $3000 1st prize at the UTM/IMI Sustainability Virtual Case Competition, where she collaborated with classmate Velislav Dzhebarov and two other international students to propose solutions to real-world sustainability challenges. See their winning video.
In the creative realm, Anand is a passionate artist and in her work-study role at the CSE, she developed visual content across social media, digital signage, and campus-wide campaigns, contributing to projects such as yearbook design, live event coverage, and promotional materials for initiatives like SPPIE and student engagement programs. Through this experience, she not only strengthened her technical design skills, but also learned how to communicate ideas more intentionally and creatively. Applying knowledge learned from the Business Minor, she is now better suited to understand how thoughtful design can shape engagement, tell meaningful stories, and connect with diverse student communities. You can explore more of the team’s work through the Centre for Student Engagement’s Instagram page (@utmengage).
For Anand, art remains a constant thread throughout everything she does. Through her independent design work and personal platforms, she explores digital art, branding, and visual storytelling. For her, art has always been a way of interpreting ideas and experiences, allowing her to combine creativity with clarity, whether designing for organizations or creating personal work. She continues to expand her creative portfolio through her website and social platforms.
As she completes her final courses in the Business Minor and prepares to graduate, Anand reflects on how deeply the program has shaped her journey. More than just learning business concepts, the minor challenged her to step outside of her comfort zone, take risks, and think about ideas beyond their scientific foundation, considering how they can be built, communicated, and brought into the real world. It gave her the confidence to speak up, to trust her ideas, and to approach problems with both creativity and structure. “Looking back, the Minor has had a huge impact on how I see my work and my future. It helped me connect everything I was doing, whether in research, design, or community work, and see how it all fits together. It pushed me to grow not just academically, but personally, and gave me the confidence to take on opportunities I wouldn’t have considered before.”
For Anand, the experience was not just about gaining skills, but about building a mindset, one that values collaboration, adaptability, and the ability to turn ideas into meaningful impact. She hopes future students will take that same leap, even if they feel uncertain at the start. “You don’t need a business background to succeed in the program. You just need to be open to learning, willing to try, and ready to grow.”
To learn more about Nitya Anand’s art and career, feel free to check her website, Instagram and to connect with her professionally, you can find her on LinkedIn.
To learn more about the Minor in Business, Science and Entrepreneurship at IMI, please visit the website or contact imi.businessminor@utoronto.ca.
