“We’re birthing companies. We [at the ELS Program] and other schools in the university know this is more important than the money … It’s really about the connections and the experience,” Derby said. “If you have connections and experience, the money will follow. So what we have here is a tremendous amount of connections, in professors, the administration, alumni, in board members and experiences for these teams to be exposed to.”
Josh Kapelman (LA '12) ELS board members Kapelman Daniel Weinstein UCHU BioSensors, a team that won the ELS program's Stephen and Geraldine Ricci Interdisciplinary Prize in 2017,“It's an opportunity to … receive comprehensive feedback from accomplished judges, make valuable connections with business people in the Boston area, and experience the amazing entrepreneurial community at Tufts,” Weinstein said. “It's not surprising, but the quality of the other teams in the competition is truly incredible."
Sohail Ali (F '19) particpated as EDKASA won the Fletcher D-Prize ELS Jamie Turner Turner Editor's Note: Zachary Hertz contributed reporting for this article.