BKC Student Ideas-to-Impact Incubator

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (BKC) at Harvard University is launching a new Ideas-to-Impact Incubator to support bold and creative student-led projects.

For nearly 30 years, BKC has convened cutting-edge scholars, builders, and practitioners whose work has been fundamental to our collective understanding of the evolving digital environment and to shaping its trajectory. Inspired by this legacy, we are excited to offer dedicated support to help Harvard students turn their own ideas into impact. Modeled after flagship BKC initiatives such as the Assembly Student Fellowship and the Student Leaders in AI program, the Incubator will provide a collaborative environment where Harvard students from all schools, disciplines, and backgrounds can experiment with new ideas and launch creative, impact-driven projects related to AI and other digital technologies.

Incubator funds can support projects at many stages, from early idea exploration and validation to prototype development or program launch, but should be executable within a 1–3 month period. Selected teams will be required to complete structured progress reports; these reports will help BKC facilitate connections with appropriate advisors from Berkman Klein faculty, staff, and community members. Participants will also have opportunities for peer collaboration and a structured workspace to test, refine, and sustain their work beyond their time on campus. Additionally, selected students will have the opportunity to engage with the Center’s broader programming through lectures, workshops, and professional development opportunities.

How to Apply

Review the research priorities above to confirm project alignment.
Download and review the budget template.
Complete the application form.
Submit no later than April 12, 2026 @ 11:59 PM ET

Questions? See our FAQ or email studentengagement@cyber.harvard.edu. Please note our student engagement email is monitored during regular business hours (M-F, 9:00–5:00 PM ET).

Project Research Priority

The Ideas-to-Impact Incubator supports student-driven projects that align with the Berkman Klein Center's research priorities. Please review our core research areas below.

Note: The application will require you to select ONE research priority that best fits your project. We understand that some projects may fit multiple areas, but we encourage you to choose the one that best describes your focus. This helps us match your application with judges who may specialize in that area.

Agentic AI

The deployment of agentic AI represents a change in kind: from passive chatbots and assistants to active participants in social, economic, and political processes. Unlike chatbots that interact with a human user, AI agents pursue objectives across time, modify their environments, and increasingly interact with other agents—all without human mediation. This transition is occurring rapidly and haphazardly, and three critical gaps define this moment. First, we lack mechanisms for fine-grained measurement and control of AI agent behavior. Second, heterogeneous, ad-hoc, multi-agent systems will likely produce emergent behaviors we cannot understand, predict, or govern. Third, deployment is outpacing institutional adaptation and governance. We have no frameworks for agent accountability or liability, no models for AI economic participation, and no consensus on protections for humans in human-agent interactions. These gaps compound: without measurement, it is much harder to regulate well; without understanding multi-agent dynamics, we cannot prevent harms to people and cascading systemic failures; without institutional and governance frameworks, deployment patterns will entrench before we understand their consequences.

Language Model Interpretability

Language models have remarkable capabilities while remaining fundamentally opaque. We can observe what they do, but we do not generally know how or why they do it. This represents more than a scientific curiosity; it undermines meaningful oversight and safe deployment in systems increasingly embedded in high-stakes decision-making. We view interpretability as a (socio-)technical and institutional challenge, and seek to develop new methods to probe model internals while simultaneously building frameworks for interpretability standards and audit requirements that are actionable for researchers, policymakers, and users.

Benchmarking AI Systems Beyond Measures of Intelligence

AI systems continue to saturate benchmark after benchmark, but we are left with an unresolved question: are we measuring and controlling what actually matters to us? Measures of “intelligence” are too narrow to answer most of the questions we care about. To move forward, we must broaden our focus to include the non-intelligence aspects of computational systems, such as agency, identity, loyalty, metacognition, theory of mind, social cognition, situatedness, awareness, and even subjective experience. By developing benchmarks and interventions directed at these non-intelligence dimensions of computational systems, we aim to provide technologists, policymakers, and the general public with the empirical evidence needed to ground their positions and the control mechanisms to effectively and safely govern increasingly capable AI systems.

AI & the Human Experience

We explore how our increased reliance on AI is already changing and could transform core dimensions of being human. We are seeking to understand how AI will impact human relationships and connections, cognitive capacity and creativity, spirituality and faith, and social-emotional development. Our work aims to evaluate the extent of these impacts and to develop concrete legal, policy, and other interventions to address them. This work centers on the experience of being a human being—agency, dignity, community, meaning, and purpose—and develops actionable mechanisms to steer AI in ways that affirm our humanity rather than erode it.

Bridging the AI Triad

We are bringing together three foundational but typically siloed communities in AI: accelerationists, who often view AI as a revolutionary force for human progress; safetyists, who emphasize its potentially catastrophic or existential risks; and skeptics, who see AI as an incremental, over-hyped technology that yet carries dangerous near-term harms. By opening up dialogue among these groups, we seek to foster understanding, encourage collaboration, and lay the groundwork for more thoughtful policy and technical development around AI.

Eligibility & Benefits

Eligibility

Types of proposals: This incubator program focuses on idea exploration, validation, initial prototype development, or early stage launch. This may include products and ideas for individual projects, student organizations, or initiatives inspired by class work and course projects.
Project Deadline: All projects must be executable in a 1-3 month period with all projects culminating on May 30, 2026.
Enrollment: All team members must be currently enrolled Harvard University students. Student fellows, post-docs, and cross‑enrolled students from other institutions are not eligible.
Team composition: All proposals must be submitted by teams consisting of at least two students. We encourage (but do not require) teams to include students from two or more Harvard schools.
Application Limit: Students are limited to one application per semester.
External Funding or Support: If you are currently receiving funding for your proposed project through other grants, employment, or another source of funding, please disclose this in your application (Question: “Is there anything else you’d like us to know about your project or team?).
Publication/Sharing/IP Ownership: Students retain all intellectual property (IP) rights to work created with incubator funding. If your project builds on pre-existing work or involves external partners, disclose this in the application (Question: “Is there anything else you’d like us to know about your project or team?). The Berkman Klein Center may showcase or highlight successful projects in program materials, but students own their work and may use, publish, or commercialize it independently.

Benefits

If a project is selected, students will have access to the following:

Up to $5,000 in project funding (as detailed in the submitted budget).
Access to co-working space in the BKC’s offices on the Harvard Law School campus alongside BKC faculty, staff, and community members.
Opportunities to engage in BKC’s existing student and community programming, including lectures, workshops, and professional development opportunities, as applicable.

Review Process & Timeline

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis by a review team compiled of BKC’s community of staff, professional fellows, affiliates, and faculty associates, with final selections approved by BKC’s leadership team. Applications will be accepted through April 12, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET to allow sufficient time for one‑month projects to be approved and administered.

All applicants will be notified via email of the review team’s decision within 3 weeks of submission. BKC staff may contact applicants beforehand with relevant follow‑up questions or requests, if applicable.

Tips for a Strong Application

Specificity: Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) in your application. Avoid vague statements like "explore AI policy"—instead, describe exactly what you'll research and why it matters. Be sure to describe potential impact.
Realistic Scope: Can you realistically deliver this project within 1–3 months with the requested funding? Be honest about what's achievable in that timeframe.
Team Skills: Highlight what each team member brings to the project. What skills or experiences make your team uniquely positioned to execute this idea?
Budget Clarity: Justify each line item in your budget and make sure the costs align with your project description. There should be no surprises or mismatches between what you say you'll do and what you're budgeting for.
Phase Focus: Concentrate on the specific phase you'll implement with these funds. Don't describe your entire 2-year vision—tell us what you'll accomplish in months 1–3 with the allotted funding.

APPLY NOW

This program is generously supported by Craig Newmark Philanthropies.