An insight into WeBuild, WISE’s (virtual) thought-incubator 👩🏽💻
What is WeBuild?
WeBuild is WISE’s new community-based series of weekly innovation and design-thinking classes dedicated to encouraging a small cohort of around 10 women of interdisciplinary backgrounds to develop an entrepreneurial mindset by learning how to problem-solve.
The inspiration for this program is to strengthen the community in Northeastern’s entrepreneurial environment for women to learn from each other and develop the fundamental knowledge for innovating while investing in their personal skills. Throughout the program, women are encouraged to apply their learnings to a passion project of their choice, whether it be a nonprofit, blog, venture, podcast, research project, or more!
WeBuild has a unique take on developing both important hard and soft skills through our curriculum that focuses on design thinking and developing an innovative mindset. However, the true value add of WeBuild is our close community. Since only 8–10 women are accepted per semester, the cohort is able to truly form a strong bond, learn, and grow with one another. WeBuild participants are provided with hands-on mentoring from WISE exec board members, female founders and innovators, and other leaders of the Northeastern entrepreneurial community.
WeBuild strives to provide our cohort with the support they needed. A new advisory program was added to the program this semester. All WeBuilder will be paired up with industry leaders and founders. With a one-hour-long coffee chat each month, the advisor will act as guidance throughout the program, offering advice, connecting mentees with resources, and encouraging to start building their own network. The WeBuild team believes our advisors would be an incredible support system to the WeBuilders — not only to support but to inspire as well.
What is the structure?
The Fall 2020 will be an amazing semester! All WeBuild classes will be hosted virtually over Zoom every Monday, starting September 28th, from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm. Each class consists of a hard skill paired with a soft skill necessary to develop an innovative mindset. With classes going virtual, the team is able to invite some of the most inspiring guest speakers to our session. We can’t wait for you to be there!
What is the final goal of the program?
The final culmination of the WeBuild program ends in a showcase presentation on December 2nd for friends and family to attend via Zoom. The showcase is a celebration of our WeBuilders’ final project and their hard work throughout the past several weeks.
Leading up to the showcase, students will receive guidance and support from the WeBuild mentors, as well as learning from their own peers. By the end of the program, WeBuilders will have learned how to problem solve, design through empathy, and hone in on something that they’re truly passionate about.
Who is the program for?
WeBuild aims at gathering women from diverse backgrounds to form a cohort with complementary personalities, interests, and skills: WeBuilders grow together and learn from each other! Women of all colleges and majors are welcome to apply as the program serves as an introductory first step to entrepreneurship.
Because our mission lies in introducing new women to building without frontiers and solidifying with them a framework that will allow them to lead with initiative, our WeBuild recruits are solely undergraduate students with no prior experience in business, ventures or innovation. Since the participants are able to focus on whatever passion project they’d like, we encourage all backgrounds to apply and share their perspectives with the cohort!
What do we teach?
At WeBuild, we believe that personal development is key for our members to gain resourcefulness as well as awareness of their talents and potential. We focus first and foremost on soft skills to help our cohort invest in their inner capital and achieve their ambitions!
Although WeBuilders work individually on their project, they continuously share and support each other’s progress by exchanging feedback and in-class group activities. The diverse and interdisciplinary nature of the cohort generates a flow of ideas, talents, and interests, from which all learners can benefit from.
How do we support our cohort?
WeBuild classes are taught and supported by new female founders and innovators in new industries each week. Speakers will teach a hard skill every week, and share what it looks like when you lead with initiative and build without borders.
Advisors and additional office hours hosted by the speakers will also be available! WeBuilders are encouraged to reach out and connect further for long term support and mentorship.
Our community is the driving force to WeBuild! We want to ensure that our cohort can reach out to us for help, advice or just to have a chat — which is why the WeBuild team, Rachel, Sandy, and Fernanda, as well as both Co-Directors of WISE, Anna, and Hannah, are available outside of class for additional office hours. We will also be bringing in other leaders of Northeastern’s entrepreneurial community for additional support.
WeBuild classes are supported by the Mosaic network, Northeastern University’s peer-to-peer community of entrepreneurs, builders, and leaders. Through weekly rep visits from different Mosaic organizations, WeBuilders are introduced to Husky Startup Challenge/Entrepreneurs Club, IDEA, Generate, Scout, and others. These external organizations are to create pathways for women finishing the program so they can have expedited access to the rest of the entrepreneurial community in Boston and beyond.
What does WeBuild mean to our members?
Our amazing team compiled a video of our WeBuilders explaining what WeBuild means to them. From motivation to empowerment, and inspiration, there is something special about the community WeBuild and WISE are able to create.
Check out the video down below! ✨
How can you get involved?
If you believe this is a match and want to be a part of our next WeBuild cohort, make sure you catch our Fall 2020 applications! The application will be Live from September 8th to 21st. Applicants will be accepted on a rolling-basis during that time period.
If you are a start-up Founder, Director, or if you have experience and wish to get involved as an advisor and/or a speaker, please reach out to WeBuild’s Co-VPs!
Co-VP : Yu-Ting, Lin: lin.yuti@northeastern.edu
Co-VP : Fernanda Lopez: lopez.fe@northeastern.edu
Coordinator : Rachel Domb: domb.r@northeastern.edu
Follow our Instagram & Facebook pages @northeasternWISE for our upcoming updates about WeBuild — Fall 2020, including our Info Session Instagram LIVE on September 8th at 7:30 pm!
