These JHU Programs are Driving Innovation in Baltimore this Spring
By Alex Keown
May 1, 2023
With a mission to support the entrepreneurial spirit of student innovators, Johns Hopkins unveiled a new annual financial award backing promising business ventures launched by student entrepreneurs.
Dubbed the President’s Venture Fellowship, the annual award will provide up to two student entrepreneurs with $100,000 in funding. The fellowship, the largest award for students offered by Johns Hopkins, is open to any full-time Johns Hopkins student, undergraduate or graduate, who aims to pursue a business venture in Baltimore following graduation. The lead of each venture will also receive a $40,000 salary stipend.
In addition to the financing, fellowship winners will receive mentoring from university leaders and alumni who have also demonstrated a successful entrepreneurial spirit. Winning teams will also have access to co-working space at the university’s FastForward U student innovation hub in the Remington neighborhood and may also be eligible for bench space in FastForward labs.
The first winners will be announced in May. Josh Ambrose, director of student ventures at Johns Hopkins, expressed excitement about the new fellowship and the thriving entrepreneurial spirit at the university.
“It behooves all of us to create a culture and ecosystem that celebrates these young entrepreneurs,” Ambrose said.
In addition to the new President’s Venture Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University has fostered an entrepreneurial environment backed by multiple networking events, partnerships with organizations like Upsurge Baltimore, accelerator programs and more.
Throughout April and May, the prestigious university has and will continue to host a series of events celebrating innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of its students. Some noted recent and upcoming events include the “Ask Me Anything Lunchtime” that was part of Upsurge Baltimore’s Equitech Tuesday event. On April 26, the guide speaker was Jeff Raider, founder of Warby Parker and Harry’s.
Also in April, Johns Hopkins hosted HopStart: Hopkins New Venture Challenge. HopStart is an annual competition that challenges students from the university to develop a business plan around a novel idea and then pitch that plan to industry leaders.
The first week of May will kick off with multiple events for entrepreneurs. May 1 is Fuel, Johns Hopkins’ upper-level accelerator in-person Demo Day. During this event, a panel of judges will host a Q&A session for multiple teams pitching their ideas. Some of those ideas include a magnetogenetic cell therapy platform and next-generation immunotherapy molecules that leverage DNA nano-particles to modulate the human immune system against cancer.
BME Design Day 2023 will be held May 2. Each year, students will showcase biomedical design projects in an open forum that allows them to showcase their devices and how they can potentially improve healthcare. BME Design Day is hosted by the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
On May 3, the Spring 2023 Spark Showcase will be held. A virtual event, judges will conduct a Q&A session for Spark teams. Prizes will be awarded.
Friday, May 5 is the Student Venture Showcase where six teams will be competing for more than $25,000 in funding. Participants will compete in a closed pitch session with venture capital judges. An open session will follow where lightning pitches will be made. That will be followed by a networking reception.
The Nucleate Baltimore Final Pitch Showcase will be held May 11 at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Nucleate is a student-led non-profit organization dedicated to supporting early-stage life-science startups and emerging biotech leaders. A list of teams presenting groundbreaking work in platform discoveries, diagnostics, and therapeutics can be found here.
The Social Innovation Lab Showcase will be held a week later on May 18. The showcase is the university’s annual accelerator showcase that will feature a “cohort of changemakers building ventures to create sustainable change with a measurable impact.” Teams will compete for prizes totaling $24,000. Three of the teams in this year’s cohort are from Johns Hopkins University, and seven teams are from the greater Baltimore area. This year, 90% of the teams are led by minority founders and female entrepreneurs. A list of competing teams can be found here.
“Baltimore is a great startup city. There are some really exciting ideas coming from Johns Hopkins students. There’s a lot of growth of innovation and student entrepreneurship on campus. We’re here for anyone from the curious to the committed,” Ambrose said. “People are looking for venture and our students are a worthy investment. With accelerator program, non-dilutive grants and more, we’re able to support the students.”
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Alex Keown is a freelance journalist who writes about a variety of subjects including the pharma, biotech, and life science industries. Prior to freelancing, Alex has served as a staff writer and editor for several publications.
