Brandeis Innovation

SparkTank, Brandeis Innovation’s signature startup pitch event was in a new location this year, but the energy, excitement and creativity were the same as always at the annual innovation competition. Marking the culmination of months of work refining their business ideas, developing their business models, and in some cases, developing viable prototypes, SparkTank is a celebration of startup energy on the Brandeis campus, in addition to being a chance for Spark participants to showcase their inventions.

Brandeis Innovation's ninth annual SparkTank competition broke the mold this year. With a new format and new energy, the event brought together top student innovators, faculty, staff, and industry experts in a showcase of the best student-led ideas at Brandeis.

The 8th Annual Innovation Showcase once again gave the Brandeis community, alums and other external attendees an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the exciting innovations coming out of the labs, classrooms and dorm rooms. Participants in Brandeis Innovation’s Spark, Sprout and I-Corps programs presented posters with a wide range of topics including biotech, sustainability, functional foods, consumer goods and high tech.

Brandeis and Hampton University students will gather again this summer to learn materials science skills and entrepreneurship.

The 11th Annual Sprout Pitch took place on June 3 at the Faculty Club, when a record number of Brandeis bench researchers pitched their discoveries in fields ranging from oncology, drug discovery, agriculture, food safety, learning analytics, mental health and cognitive science, and materials science.

The 2022 SparkTank pitch competition took place on February 13, 2022. Traditionally held on SuperBowl Sunday each year, it's an event we like to call "the second-most exciting competition taking place on the second Sunday in February." Unique among collegiate pitch competitions, SparkTank is open equally to students in all programs, faculty from across the university, and staff.

The Fall Back Into Innovation series marked the return of in-person events at Brandeis Innovation. Starting with a heartfelt and inspiring session by serial entrepreneur and investor Seth Rosen, the series provided practical guidance on all things related to entrepreneurship.

The 7th annual Brandeis Innovation Showcase took place in the Shapiro Science Center on November 18, 2021. Teams from our Spark, Sprout, and I-Corps programs showed off their newest inventions, shared their progress, and networked with each other. The gathering provided an opportunity for cross-departmental collaboration, helping innovators all over campus learn about each other.

In a technology driven world, the opportunity to transform your ideas into reality lies at the tip of your fingers. Attendees at the 2021 Summer Speaker Series learned how to go from idea to business. From creating a network of brilliant mentors to constructing a landing page and branding your product, this series of 8 weekly workshops on Wednesdays helped entrepreneurs create an adaptable mindset and understand the tools needed to increase their chances of success. The series featured dynamic speakers, including Christopher Lee, PhD, David Chang, and Doug Fox. 

 

HackMyPhD, our unique conference for exploring both academia and industry for emerging doctoral researchers, went month long with a series of workshops on career development, winning funding, and entrepreneurship. The event attracted over 600 participants from around the world, including leading universities such as the University of California, Berkeley, Cornell University, the University of Florida, and New York University.

The annual SparkTank competition held on February 7th, 2021 was a celebration of some of the best startups developed by Brandeis students from across the globe and across disciplines. This year saw a heavy concentration of startups in the fields of healthtech and sustainable consumer goods, showcasing Brandeis’ strengths in the healthcare business sector, as well as Brandesian’s commitment to sustainability.

Among the teams pitching were travel apps, edtech tools, and more. MobileMemory, an AI platform designed to diagnose early Alzheimer’s disease was in the line-up, along with Pheora Rucci, an eco-friendly skincare line for women of color.

The 6th annual Innovation Showcase, keynoted by Walter Mossberg, ‘69, brought together the year’s leading startups with alumni and members of the local and global community. Part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the event celebrated the year’s multitude of entrepreneurial activities.

The Summer of Opportunity series focused on the skills students need to turn side hustles and passions into jobs. With practical, hands-on workshops, students learned entrepreneurial skills they could use right away to create new opportunities.

The 3rd annual Mass Innovation Nights event at Brandeis showcased Brandesian inventors to hundreds of attendees in the global entrepreneurship community. Brandeis inventors demoed their featured products, while university faculty provided innovation advice via the "expert corner" session.

SparkTank 2020, which took place on SuperBowl Sunday, February 6, featured a wide range of apps, social impact programs, and products pitched. The year was especially strong for climate-change programs and health apps.

The fifth annual Brandeis Innovation Showcase was one for the record books in more ways than one. It a milestone anniversary in the history of the Brandeis Innovation Center, celebrating five years of diverse innovations across the University. Taking place November 21, 2019 at the Shapiro Science Center, it brought together the leading inventors of the past year to share their discoveries.