Spotlight: TECH & HVTSP

Mission & History

The Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard (TECH), housed within Harvard University’s School of Engineeing and Applied Science (SEAS) was established in 2000 with support from the Lumry Family Endowment. TECH was Harvard's first institutional commitment to undergraduate entrepreneurship education and laid the groundwork for fostering innovation on campus. TECH launched Harvard's first undergraduate innovation and entrepreneurship class in 2001and pioneered Harvard's first undergraduate startup competition and Harvard’s first student startup incubator in 2008.

Through a collaboration with Harvard College Ventures, the largest student-run entrepreneurship organization at Harvard, alongside world-renowned Silicon Valley startup founders, investors, and experienced education partners, TECH launched one of its most ambitious projects: the Harvard Ventures-TECH Summer Program (HVTSP). HVTSP aimed to disrupt traditional high school offerings through a unique opportunity: every student would work on real projects for pioneering, venture capital-backed startups. This hands-on experience not only exposed high school students to real-world challenges but also connected them with a network of entrepreneurs and investors, setting a new standard for high school entrepreneurship programs. To improve educational accessibility, TECH also launched the Harvard Ventures-TECH Winter Fellowship (HVTWF), a shorter, fast-paced winter program that aimed to help high school students dive deeper into the world of entrepreneurship.

HVTSP 2024

During 2024, the Harvard Ventures-TECH Summer Program (HVTSP) hosted almost 150 high school students across two sessions. Between HVTSP and HVTWF, our team has been honored to read the stories of over 3500 applicants from almost 100 countries. Through HVTSP, TECH is proud to have offered over $100,000 of financial aid for program fees and facilitate the creation of dozens of alumni-founded companies, many of which have received venture capital funding and are still in operation to date. HVTSP alumni have also gone on to attend top universities, including Harvard College, for their undergraduate studies while pursuing entrepreneurship and/or careers in technology, venture capital, finance, and a myriad of other disciplines.

This upcoming summer, in HVTSP 2025, we are excited to expand our mission of advancing innovation and entrepreneurship education. Building on last year's success, we will feature an even wider array of specialized workshops, hands-on project tracks, and new, tailored mentorship opportunities. Students will also benefit from a diverse lineup of guest speakers, including successful startup founders, venture capitalists, and industry leaders from Silicon Valley and beyond. By broadening the scope of the curriculum and providing deeper access to cutting-edge insights and real-world applications, HVTSP 2025 aims to inspire and equip the next generation of entrepreneurs with the tools they need to excel in their future endeavors. The statistics below from HVTSP 2024 reflect the quality of the education and personal growth we hope to provide for our students.

HVTSP 2024 Student End-of-Program Survey Results

Survey 1: If you could rate your overall HVTSP experience on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (exceptional), what would you rate it?

Partners

Through HVTSP, TECH has been honored to collaborate with exceptional individuals pioneering in their various fields, including serial entrepreneurs, world-reknowned venture capital and public market investors, Harvard University lecturers and alumni, and numerous Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees. TECH has also had the privillege to collaborate with companies backed by the world’s leading venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Reach Capital, and many more. Collectively, the venture capital investors of our participating startups manage over $200 billion in assets and were early backers of transformative companies such as Google, OpenAI, Stripe, DoorDash, Dropbox, Coinbase, Square, Paypal, SpaceX, Guardant Health, Senti Bio, Cruise, and many more.

Projects

Through HVTSP, our students have taken on impactful projects, gaining invaluable, hands-on experience by working on initiatives that drive real business outcomes. From crafting detailed discounted cash flow analyses to support financial acquisitions and guiding real estate investment firms in data-driven decision-making to designing consumer-facing marketing strategies and developing Python scripts to streamline operations for AI-based edtech startups, our interns have developed critical skills and insights to thrive in high-impact environments. Below is a list of just some of the innovative companies that participated in HVTSP 2024, where our students have made a real impact through their meaningful internship projects.

Alumni

We’re proud that many of our alumni, including over five from HVTSP 2024 alone, have gone on to create their own startups and dive deeply into fields they’re passionate about. The HVTSP alumni network offers unparalleled access to fireside chats, internship opportunities, advising sessions, and a vibrant, collaborative community, providing the mentorship and support they need to bring their ideas to life. We’re confident that this alumni ecosystem will continue to inspire innovation and drive meaningful impact, and we’re excited to see the incredible contributions our community will make in the years to come. We hope that in the next decade, many of our HVTSP alumni will go on to create significant progress in their fields of interest, whether it be as entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, academicians, educators, or through industry.

Please contact tech@seas.harvard.edu with any questions.