Become A Sponsor

Partner with us to shape real-world innovation and the next generation of product leaders.

Let’s Collaborate

Vision

At Dukeʼs Product Lab, we are not just building products – we are building product leaders. A program of the Christensen Family Center for Innovation at Duke University, Product Lab is a product innovation accelerator that pairs Duke student product managers, designers, and builders— with industry and university partners to design and deliver real-world technology products, including mobile applications, websites, AI agents, hardware prototypes and more.

Adam Davidson speaks to an IDC lab section before the trials.

Background

Established in 2025, Product Lab is a co-curricular, experiential learning program for students interested in building technology products. Many students have completed our coursework in Product Management, but it is not a requirement; students join from Trinity & Pratt across numerous different majors and areas of study. Industry sponsors pay $25k for a 2-semester project, meet with student teams on a bi-weekly basis, and receive a functional prototype at the end of the engagement. We have also worked with partners across the Duke ecosystem.

The typical project sequence follows these phases of product development:

  • Project Scoping – align with sponsor on goals & roadmap
  • Customer Discovery – talk to current & potential users
  • Wireframing – design user flows and product functionality
  • Build & Iterate – build the product, collect feedback, repeat!

Why Partner With Us?

Talent Pipeline

Access to engaged & qualified Duke product, design & engineering students trained in product development.

Mentor & Engage

Develop relationships with students who are future professional leaders.

Product Development

Develop initial prototypes and concepts for challenges you are excited to solve, but donʼt have the bandwidth to tackle!

Access

Access to student, faculty & University resources to develop solutions to industry challenges.

Brand Visibility

Featured logo and recognition in our demo days, newsletters, classroom materials and public showcases.

Collaborative Partner

Opportunity to partner with Duke to strengthen educational programs with industry-relevant needs.

Opportunity

Sponsors commit to a $25,000 educational agreement that covers student project work over 2-semesters (continuation of team where possible). Funds are typically sourced from Talent, Innovation or Product Development budgets. Deliverables include: customer discovery insights, wireframes, a functional product prototype, & access to a selected group of engaged & qualified product, design & engineering students for recruiting.

Impact

  • Sponsors can accelerate technology experimentation & fund projects
    aligned with corporate R&D priorities through iterative customer discovery & rapid prototyping.
  • Partner in training technology leaders cultivating expertise in AI-enabled
    coding tools, chatbot deployment, & app development.
  • Provides an ‘Internship On Campus’ experience for students, giving them a head start or freeing up summers to invest time in other passions or
    pursuits.
  • Proven traction. Product Lab generated $100k in agreements from
    sponsored projects, worked with 10+ industry sponsors, and engaged
    100 students in the 3 semesters since launch.
  • Product Lab prepares students for in-demand careers in Product. Recent
    graduates hold Product roles at Google, Salesforce, JP Morgan, Amazon,
    IBM, & Globus Medical.

Partners to Date