Student Opportunities

Colton Center Associates are graduate and professional-school students who will help provide both technical and business insights into faculty's innovations supported by the Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Yale (CCAY). The CCAY supports Yale faculty's translational research and development, as well as commercialization of their technologies in the areas of autoimmune and allergic diseases. Associates will work in small teams to help identify and support such projects. Ideal candidates will possess strong background in science, with additional experience in business and finance being preferable. All associates will have the opportunity to learn entrepreneurship and biotechnology venture development working closely with Yale Ventures staff, faculty members and entrepreneurs-in-residence. 

We seek a resourceful, data-driven and creative individual to join our team as a summer associate to focus on corporate prospecting. The Corporate Strategy & Engagement Office (CSEO) identifies and cultivates relationships with corporations to support Yale’s research, education and clinical missions. In this role, the associate will work with CSEO team members to proactively identify industries and companies with whom Yale should initiate business development. The associates will also identify ambassadors within the Yale community to engage these organizations. Companies will come from industries including life science and health, engineering and physical sciences, digital health, AI, economics, social sciences and climate. Comprehensive analysis will include corporate citizenship, environmental and social governance and philanthropy. The associate will tune into the brand identity and recent news about these companies within their industries and the larger world. Specifically, the summer associate will:

• Develop methods to compile proprietary and public information mapping recent and current Yale relationships with companies
• Identify Yale insiders with valuable perspectives on the company and interview them with CSEO colleagues to learn more about possible opportunities
• Benchmark peer university programs and initiatives
• Produce data-driven, succinct reports of high potential opportunities and paths forward to present to leadership 

Yale Ventures actively seeks out new faculty innovation to support expansion and commercialization.  Well established markets such as Therapeutics, Medtech, Digital Healthcare, Data Science, High Tech, and Climate Tech all have programs and resources through our team including patent-protection and start-up launch.  However, Innovation comes from everywhere.  In order to expand our reach, Yale Ventures is actively seeking out innovation from all Yale Schools and Institutes to identify novel opportunities our team of experts can support.  

The Faculty Engagement team would like to pilot 2-4 pilot projects to advance innovation from new domains and/or new pathways.  Associates will:

• Research and explore new methods of leveraging IP and IC.
• Recommend innovative licensing models
• Draft financial models for new business opportunities
• Map out market landscapes and competitive pressures in established and emerging markets
• Vet potential collaborators and distributors.  
• Develop success metrics and relevant outcomes measures for each project
• Possible examples include:
• Advancing Yale-founded stakeholder collaboration models in public health or sustainability.
• Identifying business models within the Performing Arts where university assets can be inserted into existing workflows.  
• Translating know-how from clinical initiatives into training models to share with other institutions.
• Creating DEI tools to help enterprises address disparities.  
• Design service-model businesses with Yale data monitoring and SME engagement

Candidates will be tasked with soliciting project ideas and will help select finalists from a small pool of opportunities.  Good intellectual curiosity and broad interests and skill sets are preferred.  Creative problem solving and excellent communication skills are required.     

The Yale Ventures Community Engagement Associate is responsible for sourcing and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation events, innovation stories, and community engagement on behalf of Yale Ventures. A successful Community Engagement Associate should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and experience with social media.  

• Review community events calendars across Yale, New Haven, and Connecticut innovation partners and promote on Yale Ventures channels: website, social, etc
• Develop engaging content that highlights the Yale innovation community for the website and social media channels 
• Work with the community to organize, plan, and promote events across the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem 
• Coordinate workshops, networking sessions, and speaker series 
• Analyze and report on community growth and engagement metrics 
• Evaluate the success of events and gather feedback for continuous improvement. 

We have two roles available for IP & Licensing that require strong analytical skills and attention to detail, proficiency in data analysis tools and software, excellent organizational and multitasking abilities, strong communication and teamwork skills. 

Compliance Role: Assist with compliance reporting of invention disclosures and patent documents to federal funding agencies. This involves data entry and data management in a proprietary database from invention disclosures; evaluating disclosures to ensure data accuracy and completeness and preparing federal reporting documents under the guidance of compliance manager.  No prior knowledge of intellectual property or compliance regulations is expected.  Assist in data entry of company and people records into a proprietary database under the guidance of associate director of licensing compliance. Required Skills: MS Office, web data searches, attention to detail and time management. Familiarity with Adobe Acrobat is desired.  

Data Analysis / Salesforce Role: We are seeking a dedicated and detail-oriented Summer Associate to join our team. The successful candidate will play a key role in data analysis, interpretation, and administrative tasks within our organization. 

• Collect and analyze data to identify patterns within the company’s operations, marketing, and other processes.
• Perform comparative analyses of multiple data sources.
• Interpret data and present findings to the team.
• Data Entry and Administration:
• Handle routine clerical tasks relating to entering or updating data in our computer system.
• Ensure that the organization’s database is accurate, up-to-date, and organized.
• Review records for accuracy and update the database with new or revised information as necessary.
• Retrieve records and electronic files and distribute them to team members as requested. 

The Summer Associate for the Roberts Innovation Fund in Yale Ventures will play a vital role in advancing the university's breakthrough innovations from the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science into the market. This position is tailored for a student currently enrolled at Yale, providing them with a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between academia and industry.  

The Summer Associate will work closely with external industry experts within Yale Ventures’ Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, gaining valuable mentorship and hands-on experience in lab-to-market activities and customer discovery.

Key Responsibilities:

• Customer Discovery: Collaborate with the Yale Ventures team to identify potential customers and market opportunities for university-developed technologies. Conduct in-depth market research and analysis to assess the commercial viability of innovations.
• Market Strategy: Assist in the development of market entry strategies, including market segmentation, competitive analysis, and pricing strategies. Contribute to the creation of comprehensive business plans.
• Mentorship: Engage with industry experts and mentors who will provide guidance and insights into entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, and business development. Leverage their expertise to refine ideas and strategies.
• Technology Assessment: Learn more about the technical feasibility and intellectual property considerations of university technologies.  
• Project Management: Effectively manage and prioritize tasks related to customer discovery projects. Maintain organized records and document findings for future reference.
• Reporting: Provide regular updates and reports on progress to Yale Ventures team and university stakeholders. Present findings and recommendations in a clear and concise manner.  

We are seeking a highly motivated, thoughtful, collaborative individual to join us as a summer associate. The Technology Transfer Intern will have an opportunity to work directly with the Yale Ventures IP & Licensing team as we support Yale Faculty in commercializing their innovations. The Technology Transfer Intern should have demonstrated interest in the translational impact of scientific research, technology commercialization, and entrepreneurship activities.

• Conduct market research
• Assess technology readiness and competitive landscape
• Research potential funding or partnership opportunities
• Participate in inventor meetings
• Assist in pitch deck development
• Prepare marketing materials

Time commitment: This position is up to 12 hours per week 

This summer associate will work on researching, designing and helping implement enhancements to Yale Ventures’ investor network.  Tasks include identifying and organizing our extended team's list of active VCs, and designing programs to expand the services Yale Ventures provides to VCs to connect them with deal flow of Yale startups. In addition, this role will help establish and implement an expanded Yale Angels program to connect angel investors with Yale startups.  This role will report directly to the Managing Director of Yale Ventures and work closely with the Executive Director of Venture Development and other stakeholders.

Preferred candidates: MBA students or students with management consulting experience.

Time commitment: This position may be up to full-time (35 hours per week).