Are you a CSAIL entrepreneur? Are you curious about the resources that CSAIL Alliances, as well as the rest of the MIT Ecosystem can offer you?
Register for Time: https://calendly.com/ckalfas/office-hours
Sign up for Office Hours to ask these questions and more! Your questions may include:
- Where can I get funding?
- Can I get connections to industry partners?
- How can I get pitch help?
- How can CSAIL Alliances help me?
- And more!
Christiana Kalfas, Senior Client Relations Coordinator (CSAIL Alliances), brings a rare blend of expertise to the entrepreneurial journey, anchored by an MS in Computer Information Systems and a BA in Neuropsychology. This background shapes her focus at the intersection of AI, machine learning, and human potential. With over eight years dedicated to accelerating ventures within the MIT ecosystem (including roles at CSAIL Alliances and MIT VMS), she has a proven track record of helping deep-tech ideas transition from the lab to the market. A recipient of multiple MIT Spot Awards, she specializes in building impactful programs and actively leveraging her role within CSAIL Alliances to directly facilitate connections between deep-tech ventures and senior industry leaders, helping translate complex research into scalable business plans. As an active Member of the Greek Scientists Society, she also offers an expanded perspective on global community and network building. Leverage her office hours to gain strategic guidance, access key institutional resources, and tap into the knowledge required to launch a successful MIT-affiliated venture.
This month, Christiana will be joined by Keenan Blatt from MIT's Mission Innovation X.
Keenan Blatt is the Senior Program Manager at MIT’s Mission Innovation X (MIX), where he leads dual-use innovation programs spanning education, research, and venture incubation. He runs the Dual Use Ventures incubator funded through the SBIR/STTR program, placing MIT undergraduates and graduate researchers on fundamental research with startups and government partners, and helps design and teach MIX’s dual-use curricula, including the SOCOM Engineering Innovation class and NATO DIANA bootcamp classes. Keenan’s background includes defense research program management at the University of Texas at Austin and service as an officer in the U.S. Army (Guard/Reserves) in intelligence/innovation community.
Mission Innovation X (MIx) serves as a strategic bridge between mission-driven organizations ("problem owners") and dual-use ventures ("capability providers"). We cultivate a robust innovation ecosystem at MIT by accelerating high-impact startups and advancing the science and practice of dual-use technology for societal benefit. Through a comprehensive portfolio of grants, strategic partnerships, fellowships, and experiential learning, MIx empowers the academic community to solve critical global challenges through direct collaboration and research translation.
Info on Startup Programs offered are here.