Emerson Consequential Scholars Program

Program Overview

A comprehensive deep-dive into the world of entrepreneurship

The Emerson Consequential Scholars (ECS) family of programs offers Stanford academics a comprehensive deep dive into the world of entrepreneurship and what it means to embrace the entrepreneurial mindset in their work. Through workshops, team projects, case studies, field experiences, reflection, mentoring, seminars, and networking activities, scholars will build the knowledge, skills, and mindset needed to tackle entrepreneurial challenges and incorporate those lessons into their personal and professional development.

ECS offers three distinct programs: a PhD cohort, a Postdoctoral cohort, and a curated Seminar Series. The ECS PhD cohort meets over the Fall and Winter quarter. The ECS Postdoctoral cohort meets over the Winter and Spring quarter. The ECS Seminar Series takes place in the Winter quarter.

PhD Cohort

Postdoctoral Cohort

Year-at-a-Glance

Fall & Winter Quarter

PhD Program

The fall quarter is designed as a 1-unit course that meets for 10 sessions on a weekly basis. Through workshops, team projects, case studies, field experiences, reflection exercises, and mentoring and networking opportunities, students will learn how to foster the entrepreneurial mindset, address critical entrepreneurial challenges, and apply these insights to their personal and professional growth. 

The winter quarter is a 1-unit course that meets for 10 sessions on a weekly basis. We dive deeper into communication and storytelling.  As a final project, students will create and deliver presentations to venture capitalists based on their research in a venture-style pitch deck.

Eligibility

This program is open to current Stanford PhD students who have successfully completed their departmental qualifying exams. 

Fall, Winter & Spring Quarter

Seminar Series

The Seminar Series is a set of curated events that will feature an extraordinary group of leaders who have received their PhD, all of whom have walked a unique path and derived value from embracing an entrepreneurial mindset. These seminars will include speakers such as company founders, senior employees, government officials, nonprofit leaders, and top-tier researchers. Each seminar will be centered on a specific topic, such as artificial intelligence, climate, healthcare, robotics, biotech, and government. The Seminar Series will begin in the Winter quarter and continue through the Spring.

Winter & Spring Quarter

Postdoctoral Program

The ECS Postdoctoral program offers a series of professional development workshops to equip postdocs with a holistic understanding of entrepreneurship, from building diverse and inclusive teams to raising capital. Special emphasis will be placed on applications of the entrepreneurial mindset to building and leading new organizations, whether in academia or industry. This program will begin in the Winter quarter and extend through the Spring. The cohort will meet every other week in the evening at the Emerson Collective office in downtown Palo Alto, beginning in February and ending in June. 

Teaching Team

Program Information

Both the ECS PhD and Postdoctoral cohort programs will provide scholars with the opportunity to learn about the entrepreneurial mindset and journey, including the skills and possibilities of technology commercialization, opportunity evaluation, and inclusive leadership. The programs recruit scholars whose research and ambitions demonstrate a motivation to make a positive impact on the world, and an interest in applying entrepreneurial principles to do so. In their respective cohort programs, scholars will:

  • Develop a network of like-minded individuals from across Stanford’s campus to form relationships that carry forward for a lifetime
  • Discover new pathways to translate their research to maximize its impact
  • Tap into the entrepreneurial mindset and learn how to incorporate thinking into becoming a better student, leader, friend, employee, or whatever path is chosen next
  • Improve written and oral communication skills
  • Work with an interdisciplinary cohort to unlock diverse viewpoints and a broader worldview of the complex issues we face today
  • Benefit from coaches drawn from faculty, venture capital, corporate, and STVP alumni leaders to who will provide feedback, offer different perspectives, and serve as access points to Silicon Valley and the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem
  • Create a presentation of their own research, in a venture style deck

Testimonials

While the Emerson Consequential Scholars program (ECS) is in its inaugural year, STVP has had fellows programs that have served the PhD and PostDoc community over the years. Here is what they had to say about their experiences and why we are excited to offer a new program exclusively dedicated to serving this community of scholars.

The STVP fellows program was one of the most formative experiences I had at Stanford, both in terms of understanding what it means to be an entrepreneur in practice and in providing me with an incredible cohort of similarly minded peers who I am lucky to still count as close friends and supporters today.

Peyton Greenside
Founder of BigHat Biosciences
Stanford PhD in Biomedical Informatics

All Emerson Consequential Scholars Program Testimonials 

Alumni

Class of 2025

Anja Redecker
Anna Eastman
Bradley Hamilton
Carmen Amo Alonso
Cristabelle De Souza
Gurpreet Bharj
Haojun Xu

Kindle Williams
Michelle Kueppers
Natalia Plewa Juraszek
Nikola Blagojevic
Peter Szijj
Pingyu Wang
Ricardo Hernandez

Saber Sheybani
Stefano Cestellos Blanco
Valeri Vasquez
Vasiliki (Vicky) Bikia
Yasser Gidi
Yudhishtar Bedi

Acknowledgements

STVP extends its deep appreciation to Emerson Collective supporting this program for Stanford students.