What's Happening At Derby Entrepreneurship Center - January 2025
Annual Reports are out!
We are ringing in the New Year and reflecting on the past with our 2024 Annual Reports! This years' reports feature growth across our wide range of offerings as well inspiring stories from our community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff.
Be sure to read both the DEC annual report with a focus on the accomplishments of our entrepreneurial students and alumni, as well as the Annual Letter from TGI, our parent organization.
We are continuously growing our courses and programming to meet diverse interests. This year, DEC and TGI are introduced 5 courses:
ENT193.03 Software Prototyping Without Code (Fall 2024): This course teaches students with no technical experience how to build fully working mobile and web apps without writing any code.
ENT/EM/TML193.02 Lean Software Leadership (Spring 2025): This hands-on course focuses on the application of lean principles in software development with focus on entrepreneurial projects and ventures.
ENT/EM/TML 193.04 Starting A Small Business (Spring 2025): This introductory course takes students through all phases of business creation for a small business.
TML/ENT/EM 193.05 Introduction to Intellectual Property (Spring 2025): This course offers a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts and legal frameworks that govern intellectual property (IP) rights.
TML/ENT/EM 193.06 Business Essentials (Spring 2025): This course explores the role of business in the modern, changing world by examining different types of businesses, roles and functions.
Tufts New Ventures Competition Applications Open Feb 3-23!
The Tufts New Ventures Competition is our flagship venture competition. Early stage innovators and entrepreneurs pitch their ideas in three tracks: General, Social Impact, and Healthcare & Life Science. We welcome applicants across the Tufts community: Undergraduate and graduate students, recent alumni, faculty and staff across all 11 schools and colleges at Tufts. The competition culminates in live pitch competitions at the hybrid semi-finals and finals.
Fletcher Global Innovation Entrepreneurship Symposium -
February 7th
Join us for an exciting student-led symposium where we’ll explore how tech/ AI is shaping the future and how international business is developing under new American leadership! Gather with top experts from various fields—industry, academia, and policy—to chat about global trade, changing geopolitics, and AI’s impact in sustainability. This symposium isn’t just another event; it’s an opportunity to be part of the conversation that’s shaping the future of global business and technology.
Learn about the retail businesses that Tufts students, faculty, staff and alumni are building. Become a customer and support a Jumbo!
If you are a Tufts student, faculty, staff member or local alumni who has a current consumer-facing business, complete this form to apply to become a vendor. https://derbyecenter.tufts.edu/vendorapplication
This event will be held in the Joyce Cummings Center. No signup necessary to attend.
Save the Date! Cross University Mixer (CUSI) hosted by Harvard
February 13
Connect with other innovators eager to change the world, meet potential cofounders or team members, and chat with people who understand #startuplife. The Cross University Student Innovator Mixer is a multi-school collaboration among MIT, Harvard, Tufts, Babson, Boston University, UMass Lowell, and many more. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet student innovators from other schools all in one place! Registration link coming soon.
Tufts Alumni Entrepreneurs Gather in San Francisco
DEC's fourth annual San Francisco Tech+Innovation mixer coincided with Dean Kyongbum Lee's visit this month. TGI Executive Director, Kevin Oye, moderated a dynamic fireside chat with Dean Lee, covering AI, social mobility, and the role of applied innovation and entrepreneurship in achieving actual impact. Dean Lee gave us a wonderful way to think about what we as educators should do for our students: we should encourage them to think deeply about how many people they can positively impact within their personal trajectory. Many thanks to the Office of Alumni Engagement for hosting a wonderful event.
Upcoming Events and opportunities at a Glance
Tufts Finance Career Forum - Tufts Student/Alumni Networking - February 1
The Finance Career Forum is a one-day event for all Tufts students interested in careers in the financial services industry. This event will provide students with an opportunity to network with Tufts alumni in person in the Joyce Cummings Center on campus. A few of the companies represented in past years include: J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Moelis & Company, Jefferies Group, Macquarie Group, Barclays Capital, Oppenheimer & Co, Financo, Whitehaven Asset Management, and more! Networking and learning opportunities will include 1:1 coffee chats (sign-up in advance), an alumni panel discussion, and an open networking session. Business casual attire. All class years are welcome!
Tufts SOE First-Year Engineering Design Challenge - February 8
Calling first year engineering students at Tufts: Join us in making a giant Rube Goldberg Machine the size of the SEC Atrium! “Chain Reaction” machines (sometimes known as Rube Goldberg machines) have been a classic example of demonstrating the transfer of energy, laws of motion, and several other practical applications of engineering while providing creators with a hands-on making experience. No prior knowledge or work required!
Tufts Hult Prize Competition - Application deadline February 15
The Hult Prize is a global pitch competition where students compete for a chance to win $1 million by presenting an idea that solves a social issue. The Tufts Hult Prize competition will take place on February 28th at 4 PM, and the winners will move on to compete in the Massachusetts Hult Prize Competition. Register Here
Rice Business Plan - Application deadline January 27
The RBPC is open to startups from any university with at least one graduate-level student. Startups will compete across five sectors for more than $1 million in prizes.
AI Empowerment for Entrepreneurial Women - January 28
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or an established business owner, this one day summit at MIT is the perfect opportunity for entrepreneurial women to learn how to harness responsible AI in practical, impactful ways. Our summit is uniquely designed to be interdisciplinary, covering the nexus of technology, business strategy, and the human spirit.
Innovators Brew: Ecosystem Networking - January 31
Meet like minded individuals, problem solvers and challengers of the status quo; foster communications, nurture collaborations between startups, investors, academia, and the overall Massachusetts Innovative ecosystem.
