Last year’s IDEA Con was so popular it sold out. This year’s iteration features speakers (keynote speaker Jasmine Crowe-Houston is the creator of a start-up that tackles food waste), workshops, networking, food, free swag, and more. Photo courtesy of IDEA Con

Innovation

Student Entrepreneurs: Head to IDEA Con Tomorrow

Hear inspiring speakers, attend workshops, and network at Innovate@BU’s seventh innovation conference

When Zachary Moring sat down at the IDEA Con breakfast last year, little did he know he was about to embark on the entrepreneurial journey of a lifetime. That day, Boston University grad student Moring (MET’24) met Joe Landis, a grad student from MIT.

After discussing Landis’ interest in creating an innovative refugee housing solution, the two decided to collaborate, pooling their complementary skills. Nine months later, their online rental marketplace platform ReHome was born, with IDEA Con to thank for their serendipitous meeting. 

IDEA Con returns this Saturday, October 14, from 9 am to 4:30 pm, offering what Landis calls a unique opportunity for collaboration. “IDEA Con really stood out to me because it was very much set up for connections,” he says. 

The largest collegiate innovation conference in the Northeast, IDEA Con features speakers (keynote speaker Jasmine Crowe-Houston is the creator of a start-up that tackles food waste), workshops, networking, food, free swag, and more. Innovate@BU powers the event, which kicked off in 2018. 

Avital Shira (CFA’20), IDEA Con strategic director, says students at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey will benefit from the event’s offerings. “We really try to meet people wherever they’re at and find a lot of waypoints of entry into the world of innovation,” she says. 

All BU students, as well as students enrolled at other colleges, can attend IDEA Con. Siobhan Dullea (CAS’91), executive director of Innovate@BU, says that students from 21 other local schools have registered for tomorrow’s event. Opening the conference up to a larger crowd facilitates the interdisciplinary collaboration central to the conference, she says, since “real innovation comes from people with different mindsets from different areas.” 

In ReHome’s case, combining Moring’s computer science degree with Landis’ city planning knowledge led to a novel data-driven approach to refugee housing. This past summer, ReHome paired 33 refugees with rental units. 

Moring says their initial meeting at IDEA Con was a perfect example of the career-changing aspect of attending the conference. “I just sat down at the table across from this stranger,” he says, “and here, nine months later, [after] we went through [student venture accelerator] MIT delta v, we’re operating out of the Innovation Headquarters at MIT and this is my day job.” 

Throughout the day, students can connect during workshops: the 10 innovation-related options range from “adopting the entrepreneurial mindset” to “networking like a boss.” Connecting with one another during meals often happens as well. 

They can also participate in structured networking sessions called CARE cafes, where students share what they’re passionate about with one another. 

Five young innovators, or IGNITE Speakers, will also share their stories. One of them, Sarah Greisdorf (CAS’20), created Holdette, a community-building start-up for recent female graduates. She hopes her talk helps students “think critically about the businesses they’re building.” 

Johar Singh (Questrom’24), another IGNITE speaker, is the CEO of Astra Wellbeing, an app that addresses healthcare worker burnout. Singh wants students listening to his talk to know that entrepreneurship is for everyone. “I didn’t come into BU saying, ‘I want to be an entrepreneur,’” he says. “It was really just because I saw a problem, found a possible solution, and put unrelenting effort into making it happen.”

Shira says students particularly benefit from the conference’s IGNITE speakers. “We hear year after year that hearing from peer founders, from students who are just maybe one step ahead of where you are in your seat, makes a really big difference for students,” she says. “So that’s where we invest time every year.” 

IDEA Con attendees—no matter their major—will be surrounded by the innovative stories and ideas they need to tackle a modern, interdisciplinary world, Dullea says. “We want the day to inspire them to explore innovation further,” she says, “and have a whole lot of fun and get free food while doing it.” 

IDEA Con sold out in 2022, but registration is still available this year.