Mission

Supporting and training the future entrepreneurs and innovators in the Harvard community.

What we do

Creating a supportive culture of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the Harvard Medical School ecosystem is central to what we do. The Innovation team runs all innovation and entrepreneurship programming for the Center and is involved with various initiatives throughout Harvard Medical School. The team provides resources, mentorship, workshops, networking opportunities, and courses to the Harvard community (MD students, PhD, Post Doc, and residents) and externally. We also believe in fostering a strong community of I&E outside of Harvard so we can stay attuned to the latest trends and technology impacting healthcare.

How we do it

Through a portfolio of opportunities, we are training the future innovators and entrepreneurs who will transform healthcare. We start by fostering a culture of support for the creative minds in our community, then giving them the tools to thrive. You can find a list of our programs below.

Harvard HealthTech Fellowship and Course

Fellowship

*Pilot launched fall 2020

  • The Harvard HealthTech Fellowship is a university-wide effort that brings together the very best of three Harvard Schools to develop novel solutions for unmet healthcare needs. The program will build multidisciplinary teams and connect them with a clinical partner, allowing the fellows to deeply immerse themselves in a period of clinical observation. The process starts with problem identification and ends with a viable business opportunity. Learn more about the HealthTech fellowship.

Course

*Facilitated annually during the spring semester

  • Students join a multidisciplinary team to learn about unmet clinical needs and take their solutions from concept to creation in twelve weeks. Students will learn how to identify needs, assess opportunities, and cultivate a lasting competitive advantage for creating innovative products and services. The HealthTech course is open to students from across Harvard and the Boston community who are enrolled in or have completed a graduate level program. Learn more about the HealthTech course.

The MIT-HMS Healthcare Innovation Bootcamp

A new accelerated-learning program by Harvard Medical School’s Center for Primary Care and the MIT Bootcamps. Participants attend lectures on healthcare, innovation, and entrepreneurship from faculty at both universities, and work on project teams to start a new healthcare venture in one week. Learn about the MIT-HMS Healthecare Innovation Bootcamp.

Healthcare Innovation & Commercialization (HIC) Course

This course was founded by the Harvard Biotech Club and has been facilitated in partnership with the Center for Primary Care since 2017. For nearly a decade HIC has offered aspiring scientists and physicians education and hands-on training for translating innovative research into meaningful commercial opportunity. Students are also assigned a team project to develop a business pitch for a Harvard OTD-based technology. The course is offered every fall and culminates in live business plan pitches to real investors.

Docs and Hackers

Technology was supposed to improve healthcare. Unfortunately, it has increased physician workload and decreased doctor-patient time at a significant cost to the taxpayer. We aim to effectively integrate technology into medicine by bringing doctors and hackers together. Participants are encouraged to share new digital health ideas, ask questions to experts in healthcare, get feedback from the group, and form teams. Learn more about Docs and Hackers.

Makerspace

A student-founded prototyping lab paired with an entrepreneurship and innovation curriculum for medical students with the goal of encouraging entrepreneurship at HMS and forming a community. Together, the group will select a problem/need, evaluate it, ideate and generate solutions, evaluate those solutions (technically and financially), and ultimately generate a pitch deck that will be presented to a group of entrepreneurs/VCs. Learn about the Makerspace.

Mentor Office Hours

Nearly every week, doctors, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists come to HMS to host mentor office hours for Harvard students. This provides students with an opportunity to gather feedback about their business plans, practice and refine their pitches, learn about the mentor’s career trajectory, and solicit advice about a company. View upcoming office hours here.

Harvard Health Innovation Network (HHIN)

The Center for Primary Care is a proud member of HHIN. HHIN is comprised of over a dozen organizations across Harvard that are focused on healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship. Our mission is to foster collaboration across disciplines, share information, and raise awareness about resources available to Harvard stakeholders. Check out the Harvard Health Innovation Network (HHIN) website to find additional opportunities for funding, mentoring, networking, careers, and continued learning.

Have an idea and looking for help?

We’re here to help. If you are interested in learning about our opportunities, contact Paola Abello.