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Duke's Christensen Family Center for Innovation's September newsletter recaps a busy summer: 22 students completed an AI Build Sprint building real software, Product Lab internships led to actual hires at companies like Esquire Deposition Solutions, and Clark Scholars spent six weeks in Barcelona blending coursework with industry mentorship. It also celebrates standout wins including alumni startup Lumius Imaging's acceptance into Y Combinator and the e-Fest Social Impact Award for the LowCostomy venture, plus a fully enrolled, waitlisted Business Leadership for Engineers course connecting students with top executives.

Duke Class of 2026 alumni Shaan Yadav and Edmond Niu’s AI-native property management startup, Atlia, has been accepted into Y Combinator after early mentoring through Duke’s Christensen Family Center for Innovation.

We're thrilled to welcome the incoming Class of 2030 to the A. James Clark Scholars Program at Duke University! Eleven exceptional students have joined the program this fall and began their journey with a two-week Summer Bridge Program on campus in early August.

The Christensen Center’s EGR 190 Business Leadership for Engineers course continues to prepare Pratt engineering undergraduate students to become effective leaders by connecting technical education with real-world leadership experiences.

Cierra Buckman is the founder of TrialON, building software to improve clinical trial administration and help research move faster and more effectively. Among the Christensen Center's most actively supported PhD fellows, she has earned a GoBig Award, completed the PhD Research Accelerator, and refined the product as a Product Lab client.

Have an idea you’re excited about, but not sure if now is the right time to build it? Join us for a candid conversation with Jaylen Coleman, founder of ATP and co-founder of Trench Sports, about how to know when it’s time to launch, keep exploring, or wait. We’ll talk about pursuing an ambitious idea while balancing classes, relationships, personal growth, and all the opportunities available at Duke.

This summer, members of the A. James Clark Scholars Program’s Class of 2029 spent six weeks in Barcelona, Spain, combining Duke-credit coursework in entrepreneurship with industry mentorship and cultural immersion through a new partnership with IES Abroad.

Congratulations to Duke alumni Tri Vu, Chenhang Li, and Luca Menozzi on their startup's acceptance into Y Combinator and currently raising their seed round. YC is one of the world's most competitive startup accelerators - birthplace of OpenAI, Airbnb, Dropbox, and many more.

Duke University undergraduates Jessica Alvarez and John Claude Shaffer (Class of 2027) recently earned national recognition for their work as members of LowCostomy, a student-led global health venture focused on addressing healthcare challenges in low-resource settings.

Meet Blue Skull Group, LLC — Lindsay Chetkof, Saagar Arya, Anna Brusoe, and Amanda Li — four undergraduate Duke University Pratt School of Engineering students who turned a classroom problem into a commercialization-ready medical device.

From 3D printed braces used by the NFL to a gel that can help regrow bones, all kinds of innovations are coming out of a Duke incubator called the BRiDGE. A former cigarette factory in downtown Durham has become a hub of innovation. Inside the historic Chesterfield building you’ll find the BRiDGE, a Duke incubator that supports startups. The incubator is part of the Pratt School of Engineering’s Christensen Family Center for Innovation. It currently supports 13 startups.

Duke Clark Scholars Kaddy Ren and Kashvi Srinivasan have been awarded the Maclin Community Connection Grant at Duke University to expand their student-led initiative, Duke Duke Goose, which fosters creativity and community through campus-wide fiber arts activities.