Welcome to Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Berkeley!
This page - including the downloadable 1 pager - is designed to help you kick-start (or accelerate) your entrepreneurial journey during your time at UC Berkeley and beyond.
What is innovation and entrepreneurship?
Innovation puts new ideas into practice. Entrepreneurs create enterprises of all kinds across the public, civic and private sectors. If you have an idea to activate, an enterprise to scale, or just want to get better at thinking entrepreneurially, UC Berkeley is the place for you.
Why do it?
Generations of students have come to UC Berkeley to question the status quo and engage in entrepreneurial thinking that makes our world a better place.
Perhaps you’d like to follow the example of 25Under25 Global Legacy Award winner and Berkeley Changemaker, Debora Ghosh, change the way we game like Kevin Chou, benefit humanity through groundbreaking scientific discoveries like UC Berkeley Nobelist Jennifer Doudna, or simply hone your leadership and critical thinking skills as you collaborate with others.
Be sure to check out this list of Innovation & Entrepreneurship campus leaders, too, and the many programmatic opportunities for students that they represent.
How do I start?
- Start with BEGIN: Whether you are just getting started in your entrepreneurial journey and want to learn more about the myriad campus resources awaiting you or you’re a seasoned entrepreneur looking to scale, the BErkeley Gateway to INnovation (BEGIN) is the place to begin.
- Take a great class: For a wider lens into entrepreneurial thinking, join the more than 20% of undergraduates who enroll in one of 30+ Berkeley Changemaker® courses.
- Develop an entrepreneurial mindset by pursuing a Certificate in Entrepreneurship & Technology offered through the Sutardja Center, or the Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation from the Jacobs Institute.
- Learn from tech entrepreneurs (most of them Cal alumni) in the one-unit Newton Lecture Series: A Berkeley Changemaker Course, or take a ten-week course in entrepreneurship via StEP.
- Find opportunities beyond coursework: Explore entrepreneurial scholarships and fellowships in the Discovery Opportunities Database.
FInd Opportunities Beyond Coursework
Explore Explore entrepreneurial scholarships, grants, and fellowships in the Discovery Opportunities Database, including opportunities to:
- Get mentorship for fostering and scaling ideas in the Fung Fellowship or Free Ventures Fellowship
- Intern with startups through the SkyDeck Ace Intern Program or the UCB Startup Fair
- Secure funding for a prototype with the Jacobs Innovation Catalyst Grant or start-up venture through the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Startup Seed Fund
- Participate in weekend hackathonsor compete in the Collider Cup or Big Ideas Contest
- Explore many more undergraduate entrepreneurial resources on the BEGIN site
