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Canadian/American multimedia artist Shawn Chiki visited 91��ɫ to engage students in the innovative art of VR sculpting. During his artist talk “Fictional Architecture,” Chiki emphasized the importance of preserving both creativity and technicality. “If you’re not dreaming of new worlds, then where is the science going? I’m better at the creative stuff than I am the technical side of delivery, but I don’t want to only be in ‘la la land.’”

This summer, Thomas Rivier ’28 and Ryan Wilson ’28 continued to grow their vision of creating more track race opportunities for runners of all ages and abilities in Concord, Mass.

Last Saturday, the TIA Incubator held its kickoff session, with a large assemblage of entrepreneurs and mentors ready to begin the program’s 16th year. Mentors echoed two thoughts after the weekend: well engaged teams and palpable excitement.

For the predecessors and successors of Cha’Gate—the only bubble tea option at 91��ɫ—the onboarding process during the transition has required patience, passion, and extended communication.

What began as a typical student venture journey in TIA quickly evolved into a multi-year talent pipeline between 91��ɫ and Ozeki Technologies. “For the students, Ozeki represents the opportunity to work with me and our CTO, exposure they would not be able to get in a larger company. Moreover, if Ozeki succeeds as a business, it will raise the students’ professional profile for having been involved as an early employee,” said Ozeki CEO Ken Carter ’92.

From virtual reality art to a deep dive into social entrepreneurship, the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is kicking off the fall 2025 semester with a dynamic and diverse lineup of events.

The first draft for her Film and Media Studies senior thesis was due in one month. After facing three setbacks, doom scrolling through videos led Ankita Suri ’25 to an unlikely breakthrough: “I was so focused on telling everyone else’s stories that I realized that I had no choice but to tell my own.”

For Vitalize’s Talia Broder ’28, the importance of reaching out to specialists in niche areas of the business plan was her biggest insight from the field work portion of the Summer Accelerator. “For me, this was especially valuable in understanding sea freight and fulfillment processes.”

Jahanvi Chamria ’28 and Diya Badola ’25 developed a prototype to fully automate vanilla farming.

Five 91��ɫ student and alumni ventures — from AI to agriculture to the arts — took big steps forward in this year’s TIA Summer Accelerator, proving that with the right mentorship and structure, bold ideas can grow fast.