How do we plan the future of humankind? Attendees of a design sprint — an exercise similar in nature to a hack-athon — hosted by the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking addressed this lofty question on Monday.

“Last Tuesday, innovation centers from across Yale convened an audience of over 100 friends and alumni of Yale SOM in the Bay Area to gain insight on impact investing and sustainable business practices.”

14 student teams have been selected to develop their ideas as part of CITY’s fall 2018 Accelerator cohort. The Accelerator, which runs every fall and spring semester, guides student innovators through the process of building effective organizations, projects, and ventures.

“April Koh ’16, co-founder and CEO of Spring Health, spoke at the Yale School of Public Health on Tuesday morning as a part of Tsai CITY’s Yale Women Innovators Breakfast Series. Koh told audience members about her journey as an entrepreneur at Yale and the founding of Spring Health.”

Two Intensives — multi-session, cohort-based experiential learning opportunities — will take on trending topics in food this fall. From the ancient practice of fermentation to the emerging field of plant-based and lab-grown “meat,” these Intensives are leveraging cross-campus perspectives to explore food practices and systems from new angles.

More than 125 students, faculty, and community members filled Kroon Hall’s Burke Auditorium on September 29 and 30, ready to dive into blockchain — the decentralized digital ledger system that’s become a hot topic in fields from finance to sustainability.

“A nonprofit that aims to help local refugees find sustainable employment, Havenly operates out of a licensed commercial kitchen near Wooster Square, in which refugee chefs bake high-quality snacks that are then transported around the area by student volunteers. All revenue generated from sales is given directly to the refugees.”

Yale has a vibrant community of student innovators, from teams building companies out of their dorm rooms to students launching nonprofits and creative projects. This fall, Tsai CITY team members are introducing a platform they hope will help gather this community’s collective knowledge in one place — and they envision students leading its growth.

“There are many students that are taking action on this topic in an innovative way, and we want to provide funding, space, mentorship and resources for students to continue to think about their ideas.”