Catalyzing Technology Products, Innovators, and Founders
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6 weeks. 22 students.
22 working products.
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Most of the students had never built software before. Powered by Deb Liu’s latest start-up, Ember, students built with momentum without wasting time on infrastructure. Ember was the fuel that let teams keep moving.
We offered the summer AI Build Sprint (EGR 590: AI-Driven Product for Builders) with no technical prerequisite. Not “some programming experience helpful.” None. Students came with a problem they cared about and left with something deployed and usable.
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“The most valuable part of building a product isn’t the actual building process. It’s the thinking that happens in between.”
“I almost solved the wrong problem; three interviews fixed that. AI let me move fast once I knew what to do, but knowing what to do came from people, not the model.”
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We heard some version of that second point all summer. The tools made building fast. Figuring out the right thing to build was still the hard part, and the solution came from talking to actual people.
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Students left with the confidence, skills, and momentum to turn problems they cared about into products ready to launch!
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Managing Director, Christensen Family Center for Innovation
Duke University Pratt School of Engineering
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The Product Lab Internship Pathway |
One of the most rewarding outcomes of Duke Product Lab is seeing classroom collaboration turn into career opportunities.
After partnering with Esquire Deposition Solutions, LLC on a Spring 2026 Product Lab project, several student team members were hired as summer interns to continue building on the work they started during the course.
As the Esquire team shared:
"The Product Lab to internship pathway has been amazing for Esquire. The Duke students came in prepared, worked independently, and delivered real software that our teams use every day. We could not be happier with the results."
When industry partners engage with Product Lab, they're not just sponsoring projects. They're discovering exceptional talent while students gain meaningful, real-world experience.
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Tech Strategy Analyst, Deloitte
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"Product Management II was a big contributor to me landing a job in tech consulting at Deloitte. The interviewers liked the product I built using AI; the stories of working through technical and relationship challenges with engineers were something I constantly highlighted during the recruiting process. I’m very glad my project became a sign of early success for the Christensen Center’s Product Lab! I’d love to continue staying involved as an alumnus through experience sharing and beyond."
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The Business Leadership for Engineers course continued to prepare Pratt engineering undergraduate students to become effective leaders by connecting technical education with real-world leadership experiences. Student demand for Business Leadership for Engineers continues to grow, with the Fall 2026 course filling all 20 available seats and generating a waitlist.
During the 2025–2026 academic year, 32 Pratt engineering students enrolled in the course, engaging with an exceptional lineup of executives and industry leaders, including Deb Liu (CEO of Ancestry.com), Keith Cockrell (President of Bank of America), Jacqui Canney (Head of HR at ServiceNow), and leaders from medicine, law, private equity, entrepreneurship, and athletics. Through these conversations, students gained practical insights into leadership, decision-making, communication, and navigating complex professional challenges.
The course is taught by Mike Salvino, former CEO of Fortune 200 company DXC Technology, and Adria Dunbar, Managing Director of the Duke Christensen Family Center for Innovation.
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"Business Leadership is a class about how to become the kind of person who makes a good leader—which generally also means it's about how to become a good person."
-Dylan Nguyen, Class of 2026
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"This is hands down one of the most interesting classes I have taken at Duke. Mike and Adria are amazing people and professors. Also, having the opportunity to listen to leaders across a variety of industries and pick their brains is something you will not find in any other class. Take it." -Business Leadership for Engineers course evaluation feedback
"This class taught me how to approach problems and think about the solutions in the long term and not just come up with a quick fix." -Business Leadership for Engineers course evaluation feedback
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Duke Alumni Startup Lumius Imaging Accepted Into Y Combinator
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Congratulations to Duke alumni Tri Vu, Luca Menozzi, and Chenhang Li on completing Y Combinator and currently raising their seed round. YC is one of the world's most competitive startup accelerators and the birthplace of OpenAI, Airbnb, Dropbox, and many more.
What began as a Duke research project has evolved into a promising medical imaging startup, Lumius (YC P26) Imaging, with the potential to expand access to fast, intelligent, and affordable 3D ultrasound technology.
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Duke Students Earn National Social Impact Award for Global Health Venture
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Congratulations to Duke undergraduates Jessica Alvarez and John Claude Shaffer (Class of 2027) on earning the Social Impact Award and $13,000 in funding at e-Fest 2026: The Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Selected as one of just 25 finalist teams from more than 170 undergraduate ventures nationwide, Jessica and John Claude represented Duke on the national stage through their work with LowCostomy, a student-led global health venture.
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Clark Scholars Build Business Skills and Global Perspective in Barcelona
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This summer, members of the A. James Clark Scholars Program’s Class of 2029 spent six weeks in Barcelona, Spain, combining Duke-credit coursework in entrepreneurship with industry mentorship and cultural immersion through a new partnership with IES Abroad.
The experience challenged scholars to think beyond technical solutions and consider the people, cultures and business needs that shape how those solutions work in the real world. In IB 360: Entrepreneurship, A European Perspective, scholars worked in teams to develop business models, identify customer needs, explore international expansion, and pitch their ideas.
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PhD Accelerator
Student Spotlight
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Aidan Canning is developing an integrated miRNA biosensing platform designed to enable rapid, customizable diagnostics that support clinical decision-making at the point of care.
Aidan has engaged with both the Christensen Center PhD Start-up Accelerator and Customer Discovery programs, as well as the I&E PhD Innovators program. Beyond the Christensen Center, he was awarded the Duke Engineering Entrepreneurship Program Postdoctoral Fellowship from Duke BME, participated in the OTC Triangle Universities Life Sciences Workshop, and has entered discussions with OTC's New Ventures office.
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Partner with Us: Looking for student support on a project?
We are accepting partners. Learn more here.
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DUKE | WILKINSON ENGINEERING BUILDING | 534 RESEARCH DRIVE DURHAM, NC
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