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Web development is a cornerstone in today's digital world where websites are increasingly moving from static documents to dynamic and interactive experiences. That puts more pressure on Software Developers, as they should know how to create web solutions that are not only well-functioning but engaging and visually appealing. In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of a Creative Coder and explore the world of generative art using JavaScript and the P5.js library – all while developing an interactive portfolio to showcase your creativity and technical skills. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you’ll design and develop a series of generative art and creative code experiences, prepare an interactive slide deck showcasing these projects, and link your work to source code in interactive notebooks. You'll become familiar with industry tools like JavaScript and P5.js, and techniques like interactivity, repetition, randomness, and image processing. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real Web Development team.

physical-life-science

cell-gene-therapy, immunotherapy, oncology

Quantify Cytokine Release to Functionally Characterize CAR T-cells Targeting Tumor Antigens 

Sai Valli Srujana Namburi

and 1 more

Learn the biology of CAR T-cells and cytokines with a major focus on quantifying cytokine secretion in response to cancerous tumors.

Molecular Biology Fellow

Cytokines are cell signaling proteins and are released by the CAR-T cells upon engagement with tumor antigens. So, measuring cytokines release is one of the most often used techniques in tumor research. This data is often critical for Investigational New Drug (IND) applications to the FDA. In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of a Research Associate and quantify a certain set of cytokines to evaluate the functional profile of CAR T-cells before their clinical application. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you'll learn how to process the raw data for visual and quantitative analysis using statistical software like MS Excel and GraphPad Prism. You'll also develop skills for drawing meaningful conclusions from the analysis you perform.

engineering

sustainable-development, supply-chain, business-modeling, business-analysis, environmental-science-engineering, environmental-policy

Business Model Analysis Using Material Sustainability Frameworks

Apurva Bafana

and 1 more

Evaluate a company's business logic to address and mitigate environmental and sustainability impact of material consumption.

Materials Science Fellow

Being the base requirement in the production of goods, the use of raw materials in the global economy is steadily rising. Both the general public and industry professionals are becoming more concerned about how material consumption contributes to climate change, ecosystem degradation, chemical pollution, and resource limitations. A growing number of industries and individual companies are taking a more comprehensive lifecycle approach to their materials and processes to stay competitive in the long run. Thus, knowledge of sustainable use of resources and different aspects of the material lifecycle becomes increasingly important for success in many types of engineering careers.

In this Build Project, you will wear the hat of a Sustainability Analyst and prepare a business analysis that employs sustainability principles for more efficient use of materials. With the help of an experienced industry expert, you will evaluate an organization using a multistage analysis that involves strategies, drivers, and barriers for business models, the role of governments, and the influence of policies. Sustainability is a cross-disciplinary field of study, and this project will promote the development of your own ideas to become more involved in the transition to a Circular Economy.

computing-data-science

computer-science, python, data-driven-development, version-control, maintainability, object-oriented-programming

Learn Professional Software Development Practices with Python

Leon Staubach

and 1 more

Use Python to write high-quality code applying object-oriented concepts and data-driven development style. This Project is facilitated with the support of Himanshu Raghuvanshi.

Data Science Fellow

In this Build Project, you will learn how to take your Python skills to the next level. You will learn how to write software in a way that it can easily be maintained, tested, and extended so that it fulfills industry standards. Through object-oriented patterns, you will be able to apply design patterns to create modularized code. Version control will be a crucial part of the feedback loop and development of your project. Towards the end, you will work on your final deliverable, creating a software application in a domain of your own choice. For example, you can build a weather data analysis app, language translation app or sports prediction app. This Build Project is different from most others because during it, you’ll receive guidelines and support not from one but two Build Fellows!

This Project is facilitated with the support of Himanshu Raghuvanshi.

engineering

fpga, verilog, hdl, pwm, pfm

Design a FPGA based LED Dimmer controller

Boyun Wang

and 1 more

Program a FPGA board using Verilog hardware description language to achieve an adjustable PWM/PFM signal with human input button.

Electrical Engineering Fellow

FPGA, Field Programmable Gate Array, is an emerging tool for various engineering applications, especially prototyping and real-time control. In recent years, the dramatically reduced price associated with high density semiconductor manufacturing, FPGA can now be used in a product directly and cost-effectively.

Learning FPGA and implementing it to solve an actual engineering problem in such a short time is the challenging part. Unlike traditional software programming, FPGA Verilog programming emphasis hardware thinking. Converting the mind set from software programming to hardware would be challenging at the beginning, but extremely rewarding when the user gets used to it.

computing-data-science

blockchain, intents, web3, crypto

Build an Intent-based Token Trading Platform

Felix Madutsa

and 1 more

Design and implement a multichain web3 application for buying and selling tokens using a general-purpose intent protocol.

Software Development Fellow

Intent-based blockchain systems are the next-generation architecture for building scalable web3 applications. One of the challenges that every intent-based system faces is having competent solvers to fill orders. Unfortunately, not much work has been done to create solver solutions that are easy to run and can be used in these intent-based systems. In this Build Project, you will wear the hat of a Software Engineer and create a prototype of a much-needed solver solution for reliable and efficient filling of intents. Whether new to blockchains or not, this entry-level project provides a solid basis for designing, developing, and testing decentralized systems accessible by billions of users. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you'll use JavaScript as well as tools such as web3 libraries, Infura, and other external APIs to interact with blockchains and software that runs on decentralized networks.

business

market-research, consumer-trends, business-strategy, online-commerce

Mastering Digital Marketing: Selling to Today’s Online Consumer

Desirée Nayak

and 1 more

Develop a deep understanding of E-Commerce and learn how to use digital marketing techniques and best practices to create a successful online marketing strategy.

Market Research Fellow

The E-Commerce Boom which began 5-10 years ago was really accelerated by the COVID-19 Pandemic. With people unable to leave their homes, brands really needed to find a way to bolster their online presence - this has not only led to retailers of every size now having direct-to-consumer/online sales channels, but also created a real spike in new digitally-native brands popping up every single day. The current macroeconomic conditions and low barrier to entry in online commerce has sustained this growth despite our return to the physical world. This has created an immense demand for skilled digital marketers, especially at the entry-level, because this is also most of these brands’ target market.

In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of a Digital Marketer and develop the marketing roadmap for a digitally native brand. Under the supervision of an experienced industry expert, you'll become familiar with digital marketing fundamentals and key performance indicators, research design and methodology, content creation best-practices, and E-Commerce systems/platforms. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real Digital Marketing team and relevant business executives with support from your project leader every step of the way.

business

marketing, digital-marketing, event-management, sales, market-research

Create and Pitch and Experiential Marketing Campaign

Dáire Boylan

and 1 more

Perform market research and provide recommendations for how an early-stage startup can select a marketing event.

Market Research Fellow

All companies must make tradeoffs in navigating how to distribute limited resources (money, employees time) for optimal growth. In this Build Project, you will wear the hat of a Marketing Manager and propose an appropriate marketing event for your chosen company to target. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you’ll leverage online sources to gather market research data, use it to propose a marketing event, and pitch your event in the final project session. You’ll become familiar with navigating online databases, running digital campaigns, modern approaches to market research, and tools like Canva and LinkedIn. All of this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real-life marketing team.

engineering

assembly-line, process-improvement, quality-control, bill-of-materials

Introduction to the Production Process of Sheet Metal Products

Carel Vos

and 1 more

Analyse and evaluate sheet metal production process, method and practices to identify possible manufacturing improvements.

Industrial Engineering Fellow

Manufacturing always requires specialists who can lay out the most effective way to produce goods – and who can keep improving these processes in the ever-changing business environment. In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of a Project Engineer and analyze CAD product design. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you'll produce a BOM, Time Study, Flowchart illustrating the manufacturing process. You will learn the ability to propose a more efficient process (less expensive, faster) for making that product. You'll become familiar with software tools like CAD, the process flow methodology, as well as manufacturing tools used in actual production. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real Engineering team.

engineering

materials-science, materials-engineering, sustainable-metal-production, high-temperature-inorganic-chemistry, ferroalloys, chemical-metallurgy, zero-carbon-emissions

Prepare a Research Proposal on Sustainable Metal Production with Zero-Carbon Emissions

Peace Kim

and 1 more

Prepare a research proposal on sustainable metal production with zero-carbon emissions – and get a chance to actually make a piece of ferroalloy.

Materials Engineering Fellow

One of the biggest problems in modern extractive metallurgy is the recycling and re-mining of bauxite residue (a.k.a red mud). Bauxite residue is treated as a hazardous by-product in the aluminum industry, but it's still full of untapped strategic metals which are critical to the defense, automotive, electronics and biotech industries. In this Build Project, you will assume a research/development role and will be tasked to suggest novel chemistries for our team’s challenge. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you will apply materials thermodynamics and kinetics to design alloys, slags and electrolyte systems of relevant chemistries. This project will give you a soft introduction to metal production and the exciting world of sustainability-focused startups. In the end, you will taste the spirit of being an awesome materials (or metallurgical) engineer and be able to describe process flow diagrams (PFDs) including key metrics of your suggested chemistries and methods. During the project, you will become familiar with industry-standard tools and techniques: Ellinghams diagrams, various phase diagrams related to metals, oxides and halides systems, kinetic models, metal production techniques, etc.

business

financial-modeling, microsoft-excel, data-analysis, aviation

Develop a Budget for an Airline’s Inflight Group

Nidhi Trambadia

and 1 more

Prepare multifaceted financial analysis to plan operating expenses for an airline’s Inflight department.

Finance Fellow

Just like in our personal lives, budgeting for an organization is an important process that entails excellent communication, analytical and personable skills. In this Build Project, you’ll wear the hat of a Financial Analyst and prepare a reasonable hypothetical budget for an airline’s Inflight group. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you'll develop multifaceted financial models and conduct analysis with tools most commonly used in the industry: Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. You'll also become familiar with aviation terminology and advanced modeling techniques like block hours/staffing and Excel model ‘dials’, respectively. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team.

physical-life-science

business, biotechnology, medical-devices, data-visualization, market-analysis, competitive-analysis

Identifying the Best: Competitor Analysis for a Medical Device

Ariel Seidner

and 1 more

Compare key qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Adipose Tissue Filtering Devices produced by Sientra and its competitors.

Material Science Fellow

Companies working in the Medical Device industry always invest in developing new products and improving existing solutions. In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of Research and Development Engineer, and prepare a comparison of competitor devices for a new branch of products that have been developed by a medical device company. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you'll present all information collected in a visually concise and informative way to help give insights on next steps for the product family. You'll improve your research skills and become familiar with public scientific and medical archives like NIH. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real research and development team.

computing-data-science

python, machine-learning, pytorch, hugging-face, generative-ai, computer-graphics, creative-coding

Coloring 3D Objects Using Generative AI

Pablo Wiedemann

and 1 more

Learn how to use modern AI image generators to color and stylize 3D objects through text prompts.

Computer Science Fellow

Generative AI is currently one of the most in-demand skills across multiple industries. As this technology continues to spread across a wide range of fields, the demand for professionals with experience in generative AI is only expected to grow. An area of particular interest is the intersection of computer graphics and generative AI. Can we utilize generative AI to create/edit 3D content? This holds significant potential for industries such as video games, digital architecture, e-commerce, and AR/VR.

You'll wear the hat of a Junior Machine Learning Scientist and leverage generative AI models to enhance 3D digital objects. You will use advanced technologies like "ControlNet" and the "Segment Anything Model" to generate and apply new colors and textures to 3D models. You will also become familiar with industry-standard tools such as Google Colab, PyTorch, and Diffusers.

physical-life-science

chemistry, biology, chemical-engineering, bioengineering, physics, materials-science, entrepreneurship, venture-capital

VC Project: Develop Competitive Analysis of a Science Startup

Vera Schroeder

and 1 more

Conduct a competitive analysis of a science-based startup we are actively considering to invest in.

Chemistry Fellow

When making an investment in a startup, it is essential to understand its competitive landscape. We need to understand other companies that are conducting similar research and product development. In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of a Venture Investor and investigate the competitive landscape (technology and products) of startups. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you will review academic publications underpinning the innovation, conduct sector research, and conduct a competitive analysis. We will focus on the areas including energy storage, carbon capture, 3D printing, green construction materials, microbial fermentation, and drug delivery methodology. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real technical investing team.

computing-data-science

python, sql, statistics, problem-solving, teamwork, apis, large-language-models, artificial-intelligence, open-source

Uncover Product Reviews Using Fine-Tuned AI-Powered Classifier

Laura Tociu

and 1 more

Using a suitable training set, train a Large Language Model classifier to find product reviews among user comments and determine their sentiment (positive, negative or neutral).

Data Science Fellow

User comments are the data fellow's company website's most unique and valuable asset;they provide more genuine and honest opinions on products than most anywhere else on the internet. However, not all of the comments are useful, as there is also banter, trolling and off-topic discussions. While ChatGPT can identify and classify product reviews extremely well, it is costly and time-consuming to use it for every new comment posted on the website. Instead, a Large Language Model (LLM) fine-tuned for this specific task can perform this task quickly, offline and at a fraction of ChatGPT.

In this Build Project, imagine you are part of Company X’s team and it’s your responsibility to solve this challenge. You will train a Large Language Model (LLM) classifier to surface product reviews from among the large body of comments on Company X’s deals and perform sentiment analysis on them.

computing-data-science

scraper, node-js, web-inspector, robot-txt

Build Your Scraper: Collect Reusable Data From Any Website

Dennis Lim

and 1 more

Learn how the web utilizes the HTTP protocol to transfer HTML pages and how to build a scraper that collects structured information from any website.

Software Development Fellow

These days, many companies provide daily-changing information on their website, but it could be a tedious job to collect them every day. The ability to create a scraper helps you get valuable data from static or dynamic websites. In this Build Project, you will gather and structure data from any public website without relying on external data APIs, allowing for time series analysis or monitoring recent information. Data ownership is crucial, so we will also cover the importance of robots.txt to prevent legal issues.

business

finance, business-intelligence, financial-data-analysis

Visualize a Financial Analysis with Power BI

Petr Miko

and 1 more

Use Microsoft Power BI to create a dashboard that conveys a company's financial wellbeing in a visually appealing form.

Finance Fellow

Data is considered one of the most valuable assets that any business owns. Companies that proactively collect and analyze data make more informed decisions and are more likely to succeed. In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of a Financial Analyst and investigate the financial well-being of the company of your choice. To support your analysis, you'll develop an interactive dashboard using Microsoft Power BI. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you'll analyze data from FP&A teams, Financial Statements, and online sources to uncover insights that will inform our financial strategies and drive informed decision making. You'll become familiar with industry tools such as Power BI and Excel and learn methodologies like quantitative and qualitative analysis. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real Financial Analytics & Strategic Initiatives team. This type of work is quite common in the industry, and having experience in Financial Analysis will benefit you when applying for entry-level jobs in Finance.

business

microsoft-excel, financial-modeling

Build a Working 5-year Financial Model

Dana Rakhimzhanova

and 1 more

Analyze organic growth potential of a publicly traded company.

Finance Fellow

In this Build Project, you will wear the hat of a Corporate Strategy Team Leader and will be asked to analyze the organic growth potential of a publicly traded company. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you will learn how to look at a company’s financial statement, how to do an industry analysis and how to come up with reasonable assumptions to project accurate growth. You will become familiar with financial modeling techniques that are widely used across a variety of firms in any industry. This work is very common in the roles of financial analysts, senior financial analysts, corporate finance analysts and many others.

engineering, computing-data-science

software-development, full-stack-development

Build a Map Dashboard to Visualize Geographical Data

Shubham Sankhe

and 1 more

Use ReactJS to develop a Map Analytics tool that presents data in visual format.

Software Development Fellow

Full Stack Engineers are trained to deal with challenges across the entire application, from user experience issues to database optimizations. This problem-solving ability is crucial for entry-level IT professionals who need to quickly address issues and find effective solutions. You'll wear the hat of a Full Stack Engineer and develop a Frontend Map Analytics tool using ReactJS. You'll become familiar with React Mapbox project, as well as gain a strong foundation in React development and map integration. Maps are a powerful tool for visualizing complex data sets that have a geographical component. Full Stack Engineers can leverage map analytics to display data points, trends, patterns, and relationships - making it easier for users to grasp insights. Building on this foundation, you may naturally explore and learn additional technologies and concepts that complement your skills and expand your capabilities. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operations of a real Full Stack team.

physical-life-science

molecular-biology, crispr-cas9, grna-and-primer-designing, pcr-analysis

Precision Guide Quest: Designing and Optimizing CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing Strategy

Harshi Gangrade

and 1 more

In this Project, students will focus on designing and optimizing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing strategies for a specific target gene leading to a comprehensive report on a plan for successful gene modification.

Molecular Biology Fellow

Embark on Precision Guide Quest! CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing revolutionized the biotech industry with its precise and versatile approach to modifying DNA. This technology utilizes a guide RNA to direct the Cas9 enzyme to specific genomic locations, where it induces double-strand breaks that can be repaired to introduce desired genetic changes. CRISPR/Cas9 has become indispensable in various industries, particularly in biomedicine, agriculture, and biotechnology, due to its ability to precisely edit genes, model diseases, develop novel therapeutics, and improve crop traits. Its efficiency, affordability, and scalability have propelled it to the forefront of genetic engineering, promising breakthroughs in treating genetic disorders, enhancing crop resilience, and advancing personalized medicine.

In this Build Project, you will create a meticulous gene editing strategy using CRISPR/Cas9 for a specific target gene crucial in disease research. You will design guide RNAs to precisely direct the Cas9 enzyme to the desired genomic location, enabling them to induce precise genetic modifications. Additionally, you will explore and select optimal delivery methods to introduce the CRISPR/Cas9 components into target cells or organisms, ensuring efficient editing while minimizing off-target effects with the insights in in vivo studies. Through critical thinking and problem-solving skills, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of CRISPR/Cas9 editing strategies and gain valuable skills applicable to the biotech industry. You will be creating a pitch deck at the end of the project which will showcase your skillset with a flow of understanding and skills learnt in this project which are the gateway to the coveted roles in the biotech industry and will act as a catalyst for a rewarding career at the forefront of genetic innovation!

physical-life-science

next-generation-sequencing, target, lead-compound, molecular-biology

Apply Next Generation Sequencing Analysis for Lead Discovery

Yanling Wang

and 1 more

Use high-through put data analysis to predict candidates for pharmaceutical drug target

Biotechnology Fellow

For any bio-pharma company, selecting a promising target for drug discovery is a critical step in a very costly drug research & development process. Companies either have a special group of scientists working on target selection full-time or dedicate time to it early in the process. In this Build Project, you will wear the hat of a Data Scientist and perform target selection through the analysis of next generation sequencing data. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you will become familiar with high-throughput database website, data download and analysis, and propose 2-3 targets for a selected disease. All this will happen in an environment that simulates the operation of a bioinformatician team.

engineering

biotechnology, cell-gene-therapy, biomedical-engineering, immunotherapy, bioengineering, biology

Analyze Flow Cytometry Data to Evaluate CAR-T Cytotoxicity

Srutartha Bose

and 1 more

Use FlowJo and GraphPad Prism software to perform flow cytometry analysis and statistical analysis of CAR-T cytotoxicity dataset generated in cell and gene therapy industry.

Biomedical Engineering Fellow

In this Build Project, you'll wear the hat of Research Associate and evaluate Flow Cytometry datasets generated by a Tumor Cell Killing Potency assay. Under the supervision of an experienced Build Fellow, you will statistically analyze cytotoxicity datasets to compare the performance of different drug products. This project will expose you to FlowJo and GraphPad Prism (two very popular tools in biotechnology, biomedical and pharmaceutical industries), as well as familiarize you with critical assay attributes. By completing this project, you will be able to make business-driven scientific in an environment that simulates the operations of a real Analytical Development team.

computing-data-science

data-science, data-visualization, data-preprocessing, feature-engineering, natural-language-porcessing, machine-learning, python

Sentiment Analysis Using Machine Learning Models

Yaya Liu

and 1 more

Develop machine learning models to train computers to interpret text and predict whether a customer’s attitude is positive, negative or neutral towards a company or the service they received from the company based on text data from Twitter.

Data Science Fellow

The airline industry is more competitive than it has ever been since more and more small and low-cost carriers entered the market. In order to increase business competitiveness, companies need to constantly assess and monitor how satisfied the customers are with the company and the service the company provides, as well as identify any potential negative trends on social media.

In contrast to traditional paper-based surveys, machine learning models provide a more timesaving, economical, and reliable way to identify and quantify customers’ opinions and attitudes, especially by utilizing massive data from social media. In this Build Project, you will build machine learning models to train computer software to interpret text and predict whether a customer’s attitude is positive, negative or neutral towards the service they received from six U.S. airline companies based on text data from Twitter. You will get exposed to Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), text preprocessing, feature engineering, data balancing, model design, development and evaluation. You'll get exposed to the daily life of a Data Scientist and learn techniques that are must-to-know for any DS professional.

engineering

biotechnology, immunotherapy, immunology, flow-cytometry, adoptive-cell-therapy

Analyze Flow Cytometry Panels for Cell-Based Immunotherapy

Gauri Kulkarni

and 1 more

Perform flow cytometry analysis to characterize cells used in different forms of immunotherapies and effectively visualize data using real-world examples.

Molecular Biology Fellow

Lymphocytes are important white blood cells in the immune system that invade tumors and hold potential for cancer treatment. Understanding their phenotype and functionality through flow cytometry analysis is essential for developing cell therapy drug products and these skills are crucial for building a career in the Immuno-Oncology field. In this Build Project, you will get a solid foundation in flow cytometry to independently analyze basic flow cytometry panels & generate data summaries. You will analyze at least one primary seven or eight-color flow cytometry panel to characterize lymphocytes that can exert anti-tumor activity. You'll also learn to use popular software tools like FlowJo & GraphPad Prism to analyze and visualize data.

engineering

biotechnology, biomedical-engineering, mechanical-engineering

Design a Low-Cost Healthcare Device

Zoe Jiang

and 1 more

Prepare a conceptual design for a point-of-care medical device for affordable disease detection or healthcare condition monitoring.

Mechanical Engineering Fellow

In this Build Project, you’ll wear the hat of Research Scientist and create a design concept for a medical diagnostic device of your choice (for diabetes, malaria, or cardiovascular disease). We'll use computer-aid design software to simulate and validate your design. This is a rare opportunity for students who are interested in the medical device development field as their future career. You can gain practical experience by working on a real-world project and be familiar with point-of-care testing and other biotechnologies, in an environment that simulates the operation of a real product development team.

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