Harvard President Drew Faust just announced the 10 finalists that the school has selected for this year’s President’s Challenge led by the iLab. These ventures, which were selected from more than 145 applications, are all aimed at channeling innovation to make the world a better place, but tackle different challenges - from health to employment.
Faust said in a statement, “The President’s Challenge shines a light on remarkable work that is happening at Harvard. I am always struck by the diversity of talents represented on our finalist teams. Our students’ ideas and innovations transcend disciplines and fields, and exemplify our hopes for harnessing the extraordinary strengths that exist throughout the University.”
So which student-led startups at Harvard are the chosen ones to stay in the running for the 2016 President’s Challenge? Here they are - and you may have heard of some already.
Aegis: According to Harvard, this startup deals with “the ‘Waze of Security’ in high-crime, low-transparency cities” and “it empowers citizens and businesses to make everyday decisions.”
Astraeus Technologies: You may know this venture because it recently cleaned up at the MIT 100K Accelerate event. It has developed the L-CARD, which is making screening for lung cancer more affordable and more accurate earlier on. Patients simply have to breathe on their device and it can detect a special gas emitted when cancer is present.
Girls Health Champions: Gender bias in countries like India can prevent girls and women from getting the health information that they need. Girls Health Champions is looking to train adolescent girls worldwide so they can act as peer health educators throughout their communities.
gomango: In developing nations, a large portion of food spoils before it even reaches the market to be sold. That’s why gomango is forming a network of refrigerated box rentals, so food producers in these areas can retain more of their merchandise, transport it easily and make more money.
immersion analytics: This company is coming up with a more versatile, comprehensive surveillance system for hospitals, as well as a platform to let these institutions perform necessary clinical tasks more effectively.
InspiringI: Working with college grads in India, this venture is coming up with “design thinking programs” to help them further their skills after school.
Memora Health: Preventative health is all the rage nowadays, and Memora Health wants in. It’s developed an online platform that connects healthcare organizations with patients and provides them with analytics to track how treatments are going.
Parachute Teachers: There’s a shortage of substitute teachers and it greatly impacts our children’s education. Leveraging people in the community who can step in and teach, Parachute Teachers hopes to develop an online, on-demand marketplace for subs.
SurgiBox: This venture is trying to take places that are not normally suitable for doing surgery and make them sanitary and safe to do so. At the same time, their devices aim to make operations easier for healthcare providers.
Welcome Home: Rent is expensive, so Welcome Home strives to give middle-class renters social housing.
