Somerville, Canopy City Collaborate on Startup Incubator

SOMERVILLE, MA – The City of Somerville and the FabLab at Somerville High School are joining forces with Canopy City, a collaborative work space in Union Square, to develop a startup incubator for teens.

The BuildCorps Incubator runs from the first week of February to the first week of May and is open to local youth ages 12-18. For 14 weeks, students will work in small teams to create a "startup" that will set a baseline for community interaction, learning technical skills and applying the skills needed to solve real-world problems.

The course, which meets twice for three hours most weeks, will culminate in a celebration at Canopy during which students will have the opportunity to share their work, receive feedback and make connections for future mentorships or internships. Groups will be evaluated on their idea, technical competence, entrepreneurial outlook and effective communication in pitching their idea.

The problems students identify might relate to one or more themes such as poverty, environment, peace, health, education and racial, ethnic and gender equality.

Guidance will be provided at Canopy, and students do not need prior experience to join. Canopy has said the BuildCorps Incubator will also lead into a year-round internship program for students at local hardware startups called the BuildCorps Fellows.

>>>Click here for more information about the program and how to register.

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