Harvard Innovation Labs · Summer 2026

Summer Programming
System Reference

Six containers. Each with its own delivery mechanisms, content, and entry model. This is how we help founders learn, connect, build, and grow this summer.

📅 June – August 2026 📍 In-Person + Virtual 🎯 20+ programs and events
How people find and get in Entry i i.e. the newsletter → Eventbrite How founders discover and access a program — from seeing a newsletter to completing an Eventbrite registration.
Where the experience lives Container i i.e. Founder Fundamentals The program bucket that holds a set of related experiences — e.g. Founder Fundamentals groups all early-stage learning together.
What founders learn Content i i.e. customer discovery The topics, skills, and knowledge areas covered within a container — e.g. customer discovery, fundraising, AI tools.
How learning is facilitated Delivery i i.e. async email learning series The format used to deliver support — e.g. async email series, cohort sprint, drop-in office hours, live workshop.
Entry model

Supported activation

— team guides members, clear pathway and check-points, follow-up

Supported activation + selection

— application, internal review, team-managed onboarding

Independent activation

— "choose your own adventure", register and show up, no follow-up required

Programs

🔑
Membership
Students start here — unlocks everything at the Harvard Innovation Labs
Supported Empowered Curious
Launch Lab X
Harvard's flagship accelerator residency — equity-free, intensive company building
Challenged Empowered Focused
🧬
Life Lab
state-of-the-art wet laboratory and co-working space for high-potential biotech and life science ventures at Harvard
Inspired Belonging Supported
🌍
Climate Circle
Cohort for climate tech and sustainability founders — peer accountability and expert speakers
Inspired Belonging Challenged

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Intake pipeline — information collection, student eligibility verification
  • Member Login Access — website member access for all resources
  • Newsletter Subscription — weekly newsletter cadence with resource information
  • Slack Community — access to Slack community for curated channels and communication
  • Co-working space — access to the co-working location

✅ Eligibility

  • Harvard Students — Current Harvard students
  • Recent Graduates with Bonus Semester — Harvard Grads of May 2026 who participated in Membership during the Fall and/or Spring
  • Registered Team Members — listed team members of Harvard Team Lead ventures in Membership

👥 Who it's for

  • Any Harvard student interested in innovation, entrepreneurship, or problem-solving
  • Students exploring ideas before they're ready for a venture
  • Founders seeking community, resources, and support
  • Students looking to build skills, meet collaborators, or attend events
  • Anyone who wants to engage with the innovation ecosystem at their own pace

Students join once and gain access to a broad ecosystem of opportunities. Success depends less on program completion and more on helping members discover relevant resources, build meaningful connections, and return regularly.

Discover Complete intake Activate Engage in content Keep warm if disengaged

Programmatic Lead(s)

Alexa Barry Lexi

Programmatic Facilitators

Lauren Koppelson Lauren
Ashley Olafsen Ashley

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Residency access — dedicated workspace and i-lab resources, year-round
  • Advisor network — continued access to the full i-lab advisor community
  • Board meeting check-ins — structured accountability with senior advisors
  • Demo Day — culminating pitch event for investors and partners
  • Alumni community — connections to the broader Harvard innovation ecosystem

📚 Content this summer

  • Fundraising strategy — investor relationships, deck refinement, term sheet navigation
  • Scaling operations — team building, hiring strategy, and product development
  • Pitch preparation — cumulative coaching building toward Demo Day
  • Peer cohort learning — alumni and student founders building alongside each other

👥 Who it's for

  • Harvard-connected founders selected at the Summer Accelerator pitch event
  • Alumni and student founders pursuing high-growth ventures
  • Founders raising or preparing to raise a pre-seed or seed round
  • Highest-commitment program — full-time venture focus expected
  • Led by Joanna Furgiuele + Rym Baouendi

Selection occurs at the Summer Accelerator pitch event. LLX residency begins after a successful pitch and team onboarding process led by the i-lab team.

Summer Accelerator pitch LLX selection decision Onboarding Residency begins Demo Day

Programmatic Lead(s)

Rym Rym
Joanna Joanna

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Dedicated coworking space — life sciences-specific work environment
  • Expert seminars — industry leaders in biotech, health, and medicine
  • Advisor office hours — life sciences mentors and domain experts
  • Peer cohort community — co-located life sciences founders in residence
  • Industry connections — links to Boston biotech ecosystem and capital networks

📚 Content this summer

  • Translational science — from research to venture, technology transfer
  • Regulatory pathways — FDA, clinical trials, IP considerations for life sciences
  • Life sciences funding — grants, NIH, biotech VCs, and angels
  • Team building — co-founder and scientific advisory board formation

👥 Who it's for

  • Founders working in biotech, health tech, medicine, and life sciences
  • Researchers translating scientific discoveries into ventures
  • Students and alumni with a life sciences focus
  • Founders who benefit from co-location with a dedicated life sciences peer community

Life Lab participants apply through a streamlined intake process. The team identifies fit and connects residents with relevant advisors and peers from day one.

Application Review + intake Residency onboarding Engage in content + community

Programmatic Lead(s)

Courtney Ho Courtney
Michelle Liu Michelle

Programmatic Facilitators

Emma Sikora Emma
Allegra Thomas Allegra

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Cohort sessions — weekly structured peer learning and accountability
  • Expert speaker series — climate investors, founders, scientists, and policy experts
  • Advisor office hours — sustainability-focused mentors and domain experts
  • Community connections — links to Harvard's broader climate and sustainability ecosystem
  • Showcase event — culminating cohort presentation

📚 Content this summer

  • Climate technology — energy, mobility, food systems, carbon solutions
  • Impact measurement — metrics, reporting frameworks, B-Corp considerations
  • Climate funding landscape — climate VCs, government grants, impact investors
  • Systems thinking — policy, market, and technology levers for climate

👥 Who it's for

  • Founders with climate, sustainability, or clean energy ventures
  • Students exploring the intersection of business and environmental impact
  • Founders who benefit from a structured, values-aligned peer community
  • All stages welcome — from idea-stage to post-revenue

Climate Circle cohort members are selected through a short application. The team curates the cohort to ensure strong peer chemistry and diverse climate focus areas.

Application Selection Cohort kickoff Weekly sessions + community Showcase event

Programmatic Lead(s)

Rebekah Emanuel Rebekah

Program Containers

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Primer — async, self-paced email journey for solo exploration
  • Sprint — sequenced cohort: kickoff → field work → check-in → showcase
  • Hackathon — two-part: build prototype → return with customer feedback
  • Themed Office hours — drop-in peer + advisor facilitation

📚 Content this summer

  • Customer discovery — interviews, assumption testing, validation
  • AI agent development — B2C concept-to-test with AI tools

👥 Who it's for

  • Pre-product and idea-stage founders
  • Students actively exploring a venture
  • Founders looking for accountability
  • Founders able to commit to 1-3 hrs/wk of work
  • Primer requires commitment to async, self-activation
  • Sprint requires commitment to 3 week series

Open access, but founders may need guidance to find the right starting point (Primer vs. Sprint).

Discover (website / staff) Register for right program Activate Engage in content Keep warm if disengaged

Programmatic Lead(s)

Tom Samph Tom
Alexa Barry Lexi

Programmatic Facilitators

Phil Green Phil
Peter Gladstone Pete
Ashley Olafsen Ashley
Becca Xiong Becca

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Application pipeline — structured review, interview, and selection process
  • Milestone check-ins — regular advisor meetings tied to venture progress gates
  • Internal pitches — advancement pitches to panel at milestone junctions
  • Advancement ceremonies — cohort recognition events open to all members

📚 Content this summer

  • Venture milestones — what progress looks like at each stage of the VIP
  • Personalized advisor feedback — content shaped by each venture's specific needs
  • Advancement Ceremony — open to all members, celebration
  • Advancement Panel — pitch panel

👥 Who it's for

  • Selected cohort members
  • Founders actively working toward defined venture milestones
  • Founders able to commit to 3-7 hrs/wk of work

Requires application, review, and personal interview. The team actively manages every step.

Application Review + interview Selection Onboarding + orientation Milestone progression

Programmatic Lead(s)

Tom Samph Tom

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Application pipeline — structured review, interview, and selection process
  • Coaching — regular advisor meetings directed at personal pitch coaching
  • Design consultation — regular staff meetings for deck design support
  • Internal pitches — advancement pitches to panel at milestone junctions
  • Funding — operationally efficient financial processing
  • Promotion — curated promotions tied to i-lab branding

📚 Content this summer

  • Personalized advisor coaching — content shaped by each venture's specific needs
  • Pitch Day Competition — pitch panel in front of external judges

👥 Who it's for

  • Selected cohort members within social impact
  • Founders actively working toward defined venture milestones
  • Founders able to commit to ~10 hrs/wk of work + coaching sessions

Requires application, review, and personal interview. The team actively manages every step.

Application Review + interview Selection Coaching progression Pitch Day

Programmatic Lead(s)

Rebekah Emanuel Rebekah
Lauren Koppelson Lauren

Programmatic Facilitators

Phil Green Phil
Julia Berman Julia
Alexa Barry Lexi

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Workshops — weekly virtual sessions, cohort-only curriculum
  • Clinics — targeted deep-dives on specific venture challenges
  • Board meeting check-ins — structured advisor accountability touchpoints
  • Community lunches — weekly in-person gathering
  • Pitch event — 5-day jury pitch

📚 Content this summer

  • Company building curriculum — weekly workshop topics across 6+ sessions
  • Fundraising + growth — embedded throughout cohort programming
  • Pitch preparation — cumulative, building toward jury event
  • Peer learning — alumni + student founders in same cohort

👥 Who it's for

  • Summer Accelerator cohort — alumni and student founders
  • Founders pursuing the LLX (Launch Lab X) pathway
  • Highest-intensity container in the summer set
  • Led by Joanna Furgiuele + Rym Baouendi

Cohort selected before summer begins. Orientation launches the experience. Weekly rhythm creates accountability + predictability.

Selection + orientation Weekly workshops + lunches Board meeting check-ins Pitch event → LLX decision

Programmatic Lead(s)

Rym Rym
Joanna Joanna

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Founder talks — expert-led lunch conversations + live Q&A
  • Accelerator info sessions — direct pipeline to YC and Techstars
  • Open workshops — single-session, skill-based
  • Expert Office Hours — single-session, question led
  • Perks + Discounts — digital catalog of partner backed discounts and perks for founders/li>

📚 Content this summer

  • Fundraising — Allison Byers
  • Accelerator Info Sessions — YC + Techstars sessions
  • AI for communications — PRStack toolkit
  • MVP feedback — peer product testing
  • Scaling an AI startup — Brian Elliott + Murph Vandervelde (Blitzy)

👥 Who it's for

  • Open membership — all member types welcome
  • Best fit for post-idea, post-MVP founders
  • No prior program participation required
  • Highest reach, lowest operational overhead of any container

Register and show up. No follow-up cadence required from the team. Each event is self-contained. The team's job is logistics and marketing, not member management.

Discover event Register Attend

Programmatic Lead(s)

Tom Samph Tom
Alexa Barry Lexi

Programmatic Facilitators

Phil Green Phil
Peter Gladstone Pete
Julien Pham Julien
Ashley Olafsen Ashley
Alex Parks Alex

⚙️ Delivery mechanisms

  • Social events — Member Appreciation, Summer Launch Party at Felipe's
  • Pitch + connect — Founder/Joiner Pizza + Pitch
  • Peer circles — Founder Circles in-person + virtual
  • Problem-solving sessions — structured peer exchange, no prep needed

📚 Content this summer

  • Peer learning — content emerges from the room, not a curriculum
  • Network building — co-founder matching, collaborator + joiner connections
  • Community identity — belonging, shared experience, i-lab culture

👥 Who it's for

  • All members, all stages, all programs
  • Life Lab residents, LLX, Climate Circle cohorts
  • Solo founders actively seeking co-founders or collaborators
  • Anyone who just wants to be in the room

Register and show up. The value is in the room itself — peer energy, serendipitous connections, informal conversation. No follow-up needed. This container is the connective tissue between all other containers.

See event (website / email) Register Attend

Programmatic Lead(s)

Ashley Olafsen Ashley
Alexa Barry Lexi

Programmatic Supporters

Allegra Thomas Allegra
Joy Joy
Emma Sikora Emma
Joanna Joanna
Becca Xiong Becca
How to use this page