The mission of the Kirchner Fellowship is to strengthen impact investing ecosystems in areas underserved by capital markets through training and empowering a diverse next generation of investors to allocate equity investments into early-stage companies.
The Challenge
Awareness is growing for the need of entrepreneurial business solutions to address global challenges. At the university level excellent progress has been made in identifying promising technologies; training teams of entrepreneurial thinkers and doers who understand the important role of for-profit, sustainable enterprises that make a difference. However, there has been far less progress, in identifying and training the next generation of capital allocators capable of understanding and investing effectively in the early-stage innovations that can transform the way we feed the planet. The Kirchner Fellowship Program is designed specifically to change that.
The Opportunity
The Kirchner Fellowship is an opportunity for students to have discretion over investment decisions, with a focus on companies applying ground-breaking technologies that can provide sustainable solutions, both environmentally and economically. Kirchner Fellows will also receive high-level mentoring from networks of investors from across North America. Working directly with our leadership team and our network of thought leaders, The Kirchner Fellows will engage in a series of face-to-face and on-line educational experiences using learning paradigms that expose them to practical, real-world issues of seed-stage and early-stage investment.
Recognition and Academic Credit
The Kirchner Fellows are outstanding individuals who have an interest in understanding how to use capital allocation to advance technological innovations which will improve our abilities to meet growing global challenges.
The Kirchner Fellowship Program will be promoted during the spring each year and there will be a small Scholarship allocated to each Fellow. In addition, the Program will cover travel and accommodation costs for the face-to-face meetings throughout the year and provide the capital necessary for investment.
The programming is primarily virtual. Fellows will be expected to remain in their home institution and continue with their studies. Fellows will also be expected to approach their home institution for academic credit for the work that will be completed as part of the Fellowship. The program leadership will provide assistance and materials to the Fellows as they arrange for academic credit.
