Patricia Porekuu on Empowering Ghanaian Women with Financial Literacy
Patricia Porekuu is a seasoned development practitioner from Ghana with over 15 years of experience in HIV, TB, and malaria programs, and she has spent her career educating and supporting underserved communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. When she arrived at Boston University’s School of Public Health as a master’s student, Patricia was ready to grow in […]
Riya Sandler Starts Conversations About Cord Blood Donations with her Enlight Fellowship Venture
Riya Sandler (Sargent’27) spent her summer splitting her time between the labor and delivery floor of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the innovation lab at Innovate@BU. Through the Enlight Fellowship, she combined her clinical interests with her entrepreneurial drive to launch a new venture aimed at changing how patients understand cord blood donation. Cord Connect, […]
Daniel Wijaya (CAS’25) Bridges Tech Skills and Community Service in Enlight Fellowship Program
Daniel Wijaya (CAS’25) never expected a newsletter buried three swipes down in his email would reshape his approach to entrepreneurship. The computer science and economics double major with a business administration minor had exposure to entrepreneurship through his brother’s ventures, but uncertainty about the risks kept him on the sidelines. “Before the Enlight Fellowship program, […]
Enlight Fellowship Opens Doors for Political Science Major Hannah Martin
When Hannah Martin (CAS’25) first stumbled upon the Enlight Fellowship application, she had little knowledge of entrepreneurship or innovation. A political science and English major with pre-law aspirations, Hannah viewed social impact primarily through a policy lens. Yet that random online discovery would change not only her summer plans but her entire career trajectory. “My […]
Stava Tackles a $1.5 Billion Developer Onboarding Problem
When Aryaman Shrivastava (CAS’26) spent over a month reading documentation before he could start coding during his tech internships, he knew there had to be a better way. This frustrating experience sparked the idea for Stava, an AI-powered developer tool designed to dramatically reduce onboarding time for software engineers. “I thought to myself, I’m wasting […]
Communiti Connects Students to Campus Life Through Innovative Platform
Finding your community on a college campus can be challenging. With hundreds of clubs, events, and activities scattered across multiple platforms, many students struggle to discover opportunities that align with their interests. This is the problem that Communiti, founded by Uzochi Nzerem (MET’26), Ananya Agarwal (CAS’25), Eugene Jung (CAS’26), Venessa Maduka (ENG’26), and Jacky Lin […]
Technotonin Industries LLC Accepted into VentureWell’s E-Team Program!
Technotonin Industries LLC was recently accepted into VentureWell’s E-Team Program! Founded by Arav Tyagi (ENG’27) and Antonio Marzoratti, Technotonin transforms standard manual wheelchairs into motorized ones in just three seconds with their Portable Affordable Wheelchair Enhancer (PAWE). Despite limited engineering experience, the duo developed their solution through self-education and extensive customer research, creating a device with […]
Success at Innovators’ Night 2025: $80k in Prize Money, Student Awards, and a Visit from President Gilliam!
Last night, 500+ innovators from Boston University and beyond gathered at Innovator’s Night to connect, celebrate, and find out who won the 2025 New Venture Competition! The awards didn’t stop at the New Venture Competition, however. From Students Innovators of the Year, to incredible mentors, to the cohorts of Innovate@BU’s selective summer programs, entrepreneurs from […]
Ben Gardiner is Eliminating Hiring Hassles
When Ben Gardiner (CAS’25) was interning at a mid-sized tech company, he witnessed firsthand a problem that plagues modern hiring: a single job posting attracted thousands of applications over a weekend, leaving his hiring manager overwhelmed with the impossible task of reviewing them all. “The way we hire is a little broken,” Ben explains. “Three […]
Prianna Sharan (CAS’25) Named Student Innovator of the Year for Social Connection App
Computer science student Prianna Sharan (CAS’25) never planned to become an entrepreneur when she arrived at Boston University from California. Yet her desire for creative autonomy and a chance meeting with Remi Chester (Questrom’25) during her first week at BU Splash would change that trajectory entirely. Now the co-founder and CTO of Popple—a social media […]