Giving M.E.T. students cutting-edge startup experience
Internships that students in Haas’ Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology (M.E.T.) program pursue aren’t your typical summer jobs.
The prestigious M.E.T. program, which awards dual degrees in business and engineering, aims to propel students into the thriving innovation scene of Silicon Valley. The goal is for them to graduate as industry visionaries themselves, whether at new or established companies.
The Entrepreneurial Fellows Program (EFP) accelerates that learning curve by providing 10–12 weeks of experience at startups from the top accelerators, including SkyDeck, Y Combinator, Techstars, and more. The EFP Fund offers students grants of $6,000.
Pracheeti Shikarkhane, BS 26, interned last summer at Glyphic Biotechnologies, where she worked directly with Glyphic’s chief technology officer on a machine learning script to sequence peptides. “It was really great for me in terms of actually implementing what I’d learned in my classes and applying it to a real project,” she says. “But the most exciting part was seeing the project’s impact on the company’s success.”
Making a difference was one of many things Sasank Aduri, BS 26, loved about interning last summer at RTHM, a young company using AI to improve treatments for complex illnesses. “You can feel your impact a lot quicker, and you’re wearing 10 different hats,” he says.
These kinds of student successes are why Jasvinder Khaira, BS 04, an M.E.T. Advisory Board member, donates generously to the Entrepreneurial Fellows Program Fund. “I’m a big believer in entrepreneurship as an engine of growth and an exciting way for young people to turbocharge their careers,” says Khaira, a senior managing director and founding partner of the Tactical Opportunities Group at Blackstone.
At the same time, he knows that finding the right internship opportunity isn’t easy. “This program provides mentorship and guidance in the selection process,” he says. “That seems like the right way to do it.”