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Harvard Innovation Labs (i-Lab) is an institution which aims to promote team-based and entrepreneurial activities among
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members of the
Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most pa ...
and
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
communities. The i-Lab's mission is to bring together students from Harvard's various schools to foster innovation across the University.


Administration

Gordon Jones was named the inaugural director of the i-Lab in 2011. Jodi Goldstein succeeded Jones in 2015 and served in the position through the 2019-20 academic year. The current executive director of the i-Lab is Matthew M. Segneri who most recently served as director of the Social Enterprise Initiative at Harvard Business School before succeeding Goldstein in 2020. Professor Srikant Datar serves as faculty chairperson. The i-Lab has approximately 14 administrative and support staff members.


Facilities

The i-Lab is headquartered at 125 Western Avenue, Allston, MA 02163. The i-Lab occupies over 30,000 square feet of space divided into three areas: the lobby area which is open to the public, a multi-media lecture hall used to host RSVP events, and a flex-space open area for registered i-Lab residents. The i-Lab also has more than 20 reservable conference rooms and a stocked kitchen. In 2014, the facilities were extended to include the Harvard Launch Lab, a space for Harvard alumni to continue business incubation. Unlike the i-Lab, which is free for Harvard students, the Launch Lab functions on a pay-for-table model. In 2015, the Launch lab added an addendum facility to foster 35 more teams.


Challenges

The i-Lab hosts several competitions open to students across the university ("Challenges"). The Challenges are similar to traditional business plan competitions in which teams submit proposals, give presentations, and are judged by a panel of experts. There are cash and in-kind prizes awarded to Challenge winners. Challenges at the i-Lab include: * President's Challenge: The President's Challenge is designed to help students develop and execute solutions to complex systemic problems facing the world. Past winners and finalists include
Vaxess Technologies Vaxess Technologies, Inc. is a company started by a team of four graduate students from Harvard developing a suite of vaccines on the MIMIX sustained dermal delivery platform that combines high temperature stability, improved efficacy, and simp ...
and SurgiBox. * Deans' Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenge: The Deans’ Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenge calls upon visionary and entrepreneurial students to develop solutions for expanding the role of the arts in society and supporting arts and artists in a sustainable manner. * Deans' Health and Life Sciences Challenge: The Deans’ Health and Life Sciences Challenge encourages students from across the University to find entrepreneurial solutions to the task of delivering affordable health.


Venture Incubation Program

The Venture Incubation Program (VIP) is open to full-time degree-seeking students and select alumni of any of the Harvard schools that are working on an entrepreneurial or innovative ventures. The 12-week program has fall, spring, and summer cohorts. As of November 2018, 1,146 VIP student teams have participated. In the first half of 2020, several VIP teams played significant roles in addressing the COVID-19 global pandemic, from making personal protection equipments (PPE) to providing key economic data for the Harvard COVID-19 Business Impact Center. In February 2022, the Harvard Innovation Labs announced its largest-ever Venture Program cohort, with 628 ventures participating. While the program does not provide funding to teams, it does provide them with: * Shared co-working space * Private workshops * Industry-specific roundtables * Mentor-matching program * Founder Dinners with visiting entrepreneurs * Exclusive Office Hours with guest experts * i-Lab Staff Advisor * Technical resources including hosting credits * Access to an Augmented Reality Studio * Access to a hardware prototyping lab


Fall 2016 Venture Incubation Program Cohort StatisticsVenture Team Profiles Booklet, Fall 2016

Each team has one self-designated team lead. Statistics are based on the school affiliation of the team lead only.


References


External links


Harvard Innovation Labs website
{{Harvard Harvard University