The Harvard Innovation Lab, which is scheduled to open in fall 2011, will "foster team-based activities and deepen interactions among both aspiring and experienced innovators across the schools of Harvard," says Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust in a recent HBS press release.
HBS Dean Nitin Nohria further explains: "Our goal is to drive innovation by connecting entrepreneurial teams, not only across the Charles River, but nationally and internationally, in an interdisciplinary approach to creating viable business ventures and social initiatives."
The lab will be located in the Boston neighborhood of Allston, just across the river from Harvard's main campus in Cambridge. The center will impact the Harvard community, as well as the larger Boston community and the entire nation on a social, economic, and technological plane. The lab will host student teams from a number of different projects—those working independently, those involved in coursework, contestants from the annual HBS Business Plan Contest, and the HBS Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, among others.
The center may also provide rent-free space for students who are working with local entrepreneurs and businesses, and will work to match teams with "the right people and resources to overcome hurdles and foster their success."
Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) will also be on board in cultivating the new innovation-focused community at Harvard.
Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best
