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Thank you for your interest in the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship. To learn more, contact us.
215.895.2566
close@drexel.edu
The Impact Innovation Hub (IIH) empowers Drexel student entrepreneurs who want to tackle important social and environmental issues. The program focuses on market-based solutions aligned with the United Nation’s (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Students in this program are guided to create sustainable, market-driven, ventures that make the world a better place.
How it Works
Students selected for the Annual Cohort Program receive six months of guided instruction through the Impact Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp. The program includes flex space in the Baiada Institute Incubator, targeted mentorship and seed funding to help develop their ideas.
Participants attend 1–2 hours of weekly seminars and take part in hands-on workshops led by faculty, entrepreneurs in residence and industry experts. Upon completion, students earn the Impact Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp Badge.
The IIH offers a supportive community that helps students navigate complex markets while creating social impact. The program helps participants develop entrepreneurial mindsets, build strategic partnerships and strengthens students’ ability to lead innovative solutions across industries.
The Impact Innovation Hub opened my eyes to the need of innovations that explore science as well as people, finances and strategy. With the mentors I gained in IIH, I experienced a wave of possibilities to not only envision new ideas, but to lead them.
Apply to the Impact Innovation Hub Cohort
Deadline: Sunday, June 29, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (US/Eastern)
Do you have an innovative business idea that tackles critical social and environmental issues and provides a market-based solution? Drexel undergraduate and/or graduate students may apply to participate in a September–May program that includes:
- 6 months of guided instruction – the “Impact Entrepreneurship Bootcamp”
- Incubator flex space in the Baiada Institute
- Targeted mentorship
- Seed money to develop their ideas
- Educational trips to visit startups
- A badge certification
- Hult Prize Regional Competition: Participants in the Impact Innovation Hub will automatically be entered into the Regional Hult Prize Competition, the world’s largest social entrepreneurship competition for college students. The Hult Prize includes a grand prize of $1M, a virtual summer accelerator program, national and global competition rounds, and a grand prize of $1M. The Close School will host the regional competition in February 2026. The winner of that competition will automatically be entered into the national competition, which will take place sometime in March.
Note: The deadline has passed for the 2025–26 Impact Innovation Hub Cohort. Please check back in Spring 2026 when the applications reopen.
- Application Judging Criteria
Cohort members will be selected based on the following:
- Does their idea/innovation tackle one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals? These goals were developed with the belief that ending poverty and other deprivations is dependent upon the improvement of health and education, the reduction of inequality, the growth of the economy, the preservation of the environment and the tackling of climate change.
- Does the applicant’s business idea clearly address at least one of the UN Sustainability Goals?
- Can the applicant commit to attending the 1—2 hours per week of instruction through The Impact Entrepreneurs Bootcamp?
- Will the applicant benefit significantly from this program?
- Does their idea have a market-based solution?
- Schedule and Logistics
- This program will begin at the start of Fall Term 2025.
- Industry experts and entrepreneurs working in the sustainability field will serve as mentors/coaches to the cohort members. Cohort members will have access to all the resources of The Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship including workspace, community, networking opportunities, and expert advice. Cohort members will be offered continued incubator space in The Baiada Institute for at least one year after the successful completion of their cohort.
- At the end of the Fall Term 2025, cohort members will be asked to present a mid-program update on their learnings, progress and plans for the Winter Term 2026. We will provide continued mentorship and check-in opportunities for cohort members during this time.
- Cohort members will complete a course of guided education — “The Impact Entrepreneurs Bootcamp” — which will consist of 1 to 2 hours per week of educational seminars and hands-on workshops with Entrepreneurs in Residence, Professors, and Guest Speakers. Instruction will include a focus on the business’s value proposition, stakeholders, customer segments, and metrics. Cohort members will learn how to establish actionable and measurable goals that drive successful decision-making through the B-Impact Assessment. At the completion of this course, students will earn a credential - the “Impact Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp” badge.
- In the Spring of 2026, Cohort members will present their ventures and tell the story of their evolution and progress at a special event/reception. Presentations will include:
- a five-minute pitch
- the results of any market testing
- impact metrics
- pivots to their original idea
- wins and setbacks
- their plans for the development of their idea/innovation at the conclusion of the program
Each student or team, will receive $3000 in seed money to be disbursed as follows:
- $1000 upon acceptance into the program
- $1000 after presenting their Fall mid-program update
- $1000 at the successful conclusion of the program