The Athena Summer Innovation Institute is an intensive three-week program at Barnard College where high school students with entrepreneurial ambitions develop ideas for startups, nonprofits, or advocacy campaigns. Participants gain hands-on experience through workshops covering product ideation, customer research, branding, marketing, and startup finances. The program is run in collaboration with the Athena Center for Leadership, giving students access to a powerful network of mentors and resources. It is an exceptional opportunity for young innovators who want to make a positive social impact through entrepreneurship.
Turning an idea into a real venture, from planning through execution.
Guiding a group toward a shared goal and keeping everyone moving together.
Delivering ideas clearly and confidently in front of an audience.
Setting long-term goals and mapping out the steps to reach them.
Promoting a product, idea, or organization to reach and persuade an audience.
Planning how to allocate limited money or resources toward a goal.
Students develop startup ideas, create business plans, and pitch ventures in a boot camp designed to teach entrepreneurial skills.
Students learn branding, marketing strategy, and communications planning as core components of venture development.
Students develop strategic planning and business development skills through designing ventures and analyzing how organizations operate.
The program explicitly mentions creating non-profit organizations as one of the venture types students can develop.
Community Experiences
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