--- title: What's Happening at Derby Entrepreneurship Center -August 2026 --- What's Happening at Derby Entrepreneurship Center - August 2026 ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­   | View in browser What's Happening At Derby Entrepreneurship Center - August 2026 Tufts Venture Accelerator 2026 - exciting summer of venture building wraps up! Last week was the final week for the Tufts Venture Accelerator. The teams made incredible progress this summer, and are prepared to continue progressing. The TVA coaches, Marcus Johnson-Smith, Idicula Mathew, and Luke Fraser, provided valuable advice and guidance to our venture builders every step of the way from early June through the final Mock Board meeting on August 6th.   Thank you to to 50+ Mock Board Advisors who joined meetings this summer, both in person and over zoom. Thank you those who led Expert Office Hours, joined as guest speakers, and to the TVA alumni who joined for Lunch and Learns to share their experiences. We also appreciate the Entrepreneurship faculty who joined to help students beyond the classroom - Jack Derby, Tina Weber, Beth McCarthy, and Luke Fraser. Finally, we appreciate the collaboration with Boston University, Babson College, and others who provided opportunities for students to join a variety of ecosystem events this summer.   Most of all, thank you to the TVA cohort who worked tirelessly and supported each other this summer. It was our pleasure to support  you on your entrepreneurial journey, and we are full of hope and excitement for your future! Read about the accelerator Current Students: Check out our featured entrepreneurship courses for the fall! Our practitioner-taught entrepreneurship undergraduate courses and minor help students learn by doing. We still have room in a few courses. Register now! ENT101.02 Entrepreneurship and Business Planning teaches students how to build and grow a business by starting one. Taught by Elaine Chen and Julie Meyer. ENT141 Entrepreneurship for Social Impact guides students to solve systemic societal and environmental problems through venture creation. Taught by Amir Hasson. ENT164 Introduction to Making gives students the skillset to create working prototypes with no prior experience. Taught by Thomas Van de Velde. Students interested in product design can also take ENT109/EE181 Societal Aspects of Design or ENT181/EE181 Product Design and Innovation. Taught by Ron Lasser. Read about our minor and courses September is Innovation Month at Tufts! Derby Entrepreneurship Center is welcoming students back in September with a month of innovation events! With giveaways, social mixers, ecosystem events, a makerfaire, small business fair, speaker events, a cross university hackathon and mixer, and more, there is something for everyone. Check out our full list of innovation month events and be sure to bookmark this page. Bookmark Innovation Month page Activate Infosession: Backing Scientists on the Founder Track Got breakthrough science you want to turn into a company? Activate is backing scientists on the founder track. Join us for an info session on Sept 22 to learn about their two-year fellowship, which provides funding, mentorship, and a community to help you drive hard tech into real-world impact.    The Activate team will introduce how the program works and what it offers researchers at every stage — from PhD students to postdocs — who are exploring whether their lab work could become a startup. They will  also share the stories of two Activate teams from Tufts: Deco Labs and Entocellular.   Michael Saad and Sophie Letcher of Entocellular won 1st place in the Healthcare & Life Sciences track of the 2025 Derby New Ventures Competition, participated in the 2025 Tufts Venture Accelerator, and completed NSF I-Corps with the Auster Center for Applied Innovation and Research. Michael and Sophie will be joining the infosessions to share their experience and to answer questions.   This Innovation Month event is sponsored by Activate and co-hosted by the Auster Center for Applied Innovation and Research and the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts. Register for event When a Class Assignment Becomes a Cause: check out this TuftsNow story! Read about how 5 students in Jack Derby's Entrepreneurial Marketing class helped a non-profit in Tanzania.  Read article Upcoming Alumni Event in Sonoma! Jumbos Uncorked: An Evening at Kivelstadt Cellars The Tufts Entrepreneurial Network (TEN), ’Bos of the Last Decade (BOLD), and the Derby Entrepreneurship Center (DEC) invite you to an elegant and relaxed evening in Sonoma.   On Saturday, October 3, join us at Kivelstadt Cellars, owned by fellow Tufts alum, Jordan Kivelstadt, E04. The evening will begin at 4:30 PM with a wine tasting led by Jordan, who will guide guests through a curated selection of Kivelstadt Cellars wines paired with artisanal cheese and charcuterie boards. Following the tasting, we’ll gather on the patio for a family-style dinner and an opportunity to connect with fellow alumni, professionals in the innovation and technology sectors, and members of the DEC leadership team.   Register for event Upcoming Events and opportunities at a Glance Sign up to learn more about Break the Barrier, a new healthcare innovation competition launching this fall Break the Barrier by Inventacare is a national, venture-backed healthcare competition for students, clinicians, engineers, and self-taught builders solving healthcare's problems with AI. Turn your ideas into a real solution. Finalists receive resources and a path to investment. Get notified when the competition opens Robotics Startup Pitchfest - Applications open through Aug 20 The Robotics Pitchfest is an exciting opportunity for early-stage robotics startups to showcase their innovations at an international conference to a panel of experts.  Learn more and register Support the Derby Entrepreneurship Center!   Help us build and grow the next generation of Tufts innovators and entrepreneurs through a tax-deductible donation! DONATE • Derby Entrepreneurship Center Tufts Gordon Institute, 177 College Ave, 3rd Floor, Medford, MA 02155, 617-627-3110 Unsubscribe Manage preferences | | --- |