What Students & Partners Are Saying

Our collaboration with Duke’s Christensen Family Center for Innovation and the Product Lab has been a genuinely rewarding experience… The student team tackled an industry-grade challenge and exceeded all expectations. What they produced wasn’t just a class project, but thoughtful, grounded product work that impressed everyone at Railinc… We would openly invite any team member into our company and look forward to future collaborations.

Railinc Corporation Product Lab Sponsor, 2025-2026

Since graduating, I’ve joined Disney Streaming in NYC as a Product Manager. While the user base has shifted from a medical student cohort in Durham to a global audience, the core principles haven’t changed. I now get to take the lessons I learned in the classroom and apply them at a much larger scale. Duke Product Lab demystified the career for me—a perspective I continue to share with current students eager to break into the field.

Alex Pieroni Product Lab Participant & GoBIG Grant Awardee, Class of 2025

I’m grateful to Product Lab for providing me with hands-on experience in Product Management- the opportunity to work as a PM on projects and real-world companies during your undergraduate years is extremely rare. These skills have paid off at my current role as an Associate Product Manager at Google.

Alyssa Ting Product Lab Participant, Class of 2025

The community and faculty supported me through the highs and lows of job hunting, giving me the confidence to enter the workforce. Today, I still rely on that mentorship and apply the program’s core philosophy—centering the user experience—to every decision I make, ensuring I deliver real value… Duke Product Lab was easily one of the most impactful experiences of my time at Duke.

Haley Wixom Product Lab Participant, Class of 2024

Learning about the process of translating academic projects into commercial ventures in Design Health, combined with mentorship from Dr. Richardson and Dr. Joe Knight, gave me the foundation to take the next step. I’ve now co-founded Levita Health to bring this innovation to market. Design Health didn’t just teach me how to develop medical devices. It showed me how to listen to patients, work across disciplines, and transform research into solutions that can actually reach the people who need them.

Kishen Mitra Design Health Participant, Class of 2024

I feel so fortunate to join this special network of people who care deeply about building meaningful things and helping each other succeed. I’m especially thankful for my mentors—Anna Wilson, Isaac Park, the Christensen Center leadership team, and the many peers who have guided and encouraged me along the way. I’m eager to give back—to help others grow, to pay forward the support I’ve received, and to help foster the same empowering environment that has helped me thrive.

Jessie Chan Product Lab Student Fellow & Participant, Class of 2026

Over four years, the A. James Clark Scholarship has provided me with leadership training, financial support, a community of like-minded peers, meaningful mentorship, and opportunities for personal as well as career growth. The program has enhanced my Duke experience immensely, including working on creative projects, cultivating diverse skills, and forming lifelong friendships.

Philip Liu Duke Clark Scholar, Class of 2022

Joining the Christensen Family Center for Innovation’s Accelerator Program was one of the most exciting parts of my PhD journey… The Accelerator helped me see my research in a whole new light—it taught me how to evaluate its commercial potential, understand what end users actually need, and map out a path from idea to impact. Plus, I met some incredible people and had a lot of fun along the way.

Parul Sirohi PhD Accelerator Participant, Class of 2025