Brandeis hosts first-ever student-led tech and entrepreneurship conference
Photo Credit: Daniel Oren ’27
September 15, 2025
Students from across Greater Boston converged at Brandeis for Lead the Future: Technology and Entrepreneurship Redefined, the university’s first student-led technology and entrepreneurship conference.
The event was the brainchild of Shamsi “Momo” Mumtahina ’27, president of Girls Who Code at Brandeis. Inspired by her own experiences attending tech conferences across Boston, Mumtahina believed Brandeis was ready for its own stage. She designed the full program and led outreach to top practitioners in software engineering, AI and entrepreneurship, successfully securing their participation.
With support from the computer science department, Brandeis Innovation, the Brandeis Entrepreneurship and Tech Association, and the Hiatt Career Center, the conference delivered a full day of keynotes, panels and networking opportunities.
Speakers included Igor Pedan ’05, a technical leader at Amazon Robotics who scaled Robin, Amazon’s first robotic system; Mike Grandinetti, an eight-time VC-backed startup executive; and Samara Gordon, general partner at Hyperplane VC. Panels featured leaders from Microsoft, HubSpot, Salesforce and Boston’s startup community.
“It was a chance to meet students from other schools and professionals from different industries,” Mumtahina said. “Students got to hear from subject-matter experts, but more importantly, they got to network by introducing themselves and asking questions.”
