INNOVATION, DESIGN & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Our organization helps students learn about innovation, design, and entrepreneurship helping them build a community, form teams, and support promising ideas with funding through competitions. We also provide spaces and other resources for prototyping and testing. Visit the About Us page to learn more.
Fast Pitch 2025 WINNERS
Undergraduate
1st place 🥇Hearify: Enhancing the way we communicate; providing aural rehabilitation for those who need it. Veer Chopra (CC 2029)
2nd place 🥈NEUR: The future of law is accessible, NEUR empowers you to face any legal challenge confidently! Sikirat Mustapha (CC 2025)
3rd place 🥉O2-Matic: Automating ambu-bag ventilation for low-resource care settings. Andre Perez, Kavita Murthy, Daniella Uvaldo, Kailyn Grant, Mia Raneri, Flavia Bottai (SEAS 2026)
Graduate
1st place 🥇Perpetua: Software for executors managing digital estates. Jacqueline Deprey (MBAxMS 2026)
2nd place 🥈HeraHealth: Digital health platform delivering actionable postpartum data for female confidence and medical autonomy. Aya Zaatreh (SEAS 2026)
3rd place 🥉Votely: The most accurate, detailed, and sharable political quiz ever made. Jules Lemée (SEAS 2026)
Audience choice
🏅Babble: One app for thinking, nothing, and coding. Siwakorn Komolhiran (SEAS 2028), Sanay Sheth.
Fast Pitch 2025 Judges
Jennifer Horton, SEAS ’02 and CBS VCPE ’23, Founder and CEO, JRH Entertainment Group Inc
Avani Kadakia, ENG IEOR’02
Jamie Palmer, SEAS ’25, Co-Founder and CTO of Icarus Robotics
Nicholas DeGiacomo, SEAS ’15, EIR at Columbia Startup Lab
Arjun Dundoo, CBS ‘2026, Lerer Hippeau
Digvijay Makwana, CBS ’25, SEAS ’25
Derrick Chien, CBS ’25, SEAS ’25, CEO of Cadenova
Congratulations to all the winners and participants! We can’t wait to see your future accomplishments!
Columbia University Intro to Entrepreneurship Webinar
View the recent webinar recording (August 4, 2025) to learn about entrepreneurship resources available this academic year.
Community
Join the IDE LinkedIn community to make connections, learn about upcoming events and share announcements.
Mentorship Program Fall 2025
Blueprint Mentorship Program
Ready to connect, grow, and succeed? Join a vibrant network of Columbia Engineers. Mentor the next generation, share your expertise, and discover new career opportunities. This is your Blueprint—to connect, give back, and chart your path forward.
News
Columbia Engineering Mourns IT Exec and Entrepreneur Edward Botwinick BS’58
View newsletters for recent community announcements, news, events and more.