MIT DHIVE Press Releases

07.12.23

MIT DHIVE (Dive into Healthcare Entrepreneurship and Venture Exploration) Embarks on its Largest Cohort Yet, Bridging Healthcare Challenges with Student Talent and Solutions!

The MIT DHIVE program empowers and supports MIT students in their entrepreneurial journey, specifically in the realm of healthcare. This program caters to both undergraduate and graduate students, providing guidance and mentorship along the way. By offering specialized partner tracks, DHIVE enables participants to learn from esteemed subject matter experts, gaining insights into unmet needs and fostering the development of innovative ideas. Through collaboration and teamwork, DHIVE teams delve into customer discovery, leveraging the I-Corps Spark program to explore potential market opportunities for their solutions. Furthermore, these teams are paired with experienced mentors who provide invaluable guidance, assisting in the transformation of their ideas into tangible real-world solutions.


Interest in DHIVE has grown significantly since it launched in Summer of 2021, with 14 students. This summer the cohort has over 70 participants from a range of backgrounds and disciplines from MBA students to Biomedical Engineering graduates.  The students in this cohort are a committed and impressive bunch, with participants joining from around the world. Partner tracks this year are focused on Long Covid and Lyme disease, and Takeda Biopharma Innovation. However, the solutions teams come up with are limitless, and could be focused on, but not limited to, areas such as specific scientific research or technology, AI applications, women’s health, new digital solutions, and more.

Vyda Bielkus, Director of the DHIVE program (MIT Sloan School of Management alumna and seasoned entrepreneur), shares that “unlike other programs that require pre-existing teams and formulated ideas, DHIVE offers a truly unique experience. Individual applicants have the chance to learn about real unmet needs from our partner subject matter experts. Their expertise serves as a wellspring of inspiration for participants' projects and startup ideas. By fostering a collaborative environment and emphasizing the value of complementary skills, we witness students from the various schools (Sloan, School of Engineering, etc) forming teams and working together.”


“In addition to the incredible subject matter experts, the program would not be possible without our partners, including our generous benefactor Emily Fairbain" says Bielkus.  This year’s new partner is the MIT-Takeda Program (part of Abdul Latif Jameel Machine Learning Clinic for Healthcare) connects the students to leading experts in biopharma. “Takeda's contribution to MIT's DHIVE program, dedicated to educating future healthcare entrepreneurs, reflects our commitment as a socially responsible company that actively engages with communities worldwide. Moreover, this partnership exemplifies our strong desire to enhance patient well-being through the development of innovative solutions”, says John Chan, Head, ShinrAI Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.