Student Life
Conferences and Competitions
Student Initiatives: Ideas Made to Matter
MIT Sloan students plan and host professional conferences that focus on a particular region, industry, or theme during each academic year. The conferences bring business, government, and thought leaders from around the world to MIT Sloan's campus and the Cambridge area to share their insights with students and professionals. They offer an invaluable opportunity to practice management in action, allowing students who get involved to build their networks and develop leadership skills. Attending a Sloan student conference also offers a unique opportunity to learn more about a particular industry or geography while supporting the incredible work of your peers.
2023-2024 Conferences and Competitions
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The MIT Sloan Stock Pitch Competition is designed for graduate students from top business programs across the United States to showcase their investment analysis skills in front of distinguished and seasoned judges from top investment management firms. The Series will host up to 80 student participants and 18 judges. The competition begins with a preliminary round where teams compete concurrently in front of separate judge panels who will select the winning team from each group to advance to the finals. Following the preliminary round, there is a keynote speaker address from our platinum corporate sponsor centered around understanding the investment management industry and career opportunities. Following this keynote address, competitors are notified of preliminary round results and the winners advance to the final round of competition, from which one winning team will be selected. Prizes are awarded to the top 2-3 teams and all competitors and attendees get the opportunity to network with sponsors and judges, as well as fellow business school students from across the country who are also pursuing careers in investment management.
Visit the website for more information.
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PITCH is the first phase of the MIT $100K Competition. Participants practice articulating a 90-second pitch in front of a panel of experienced judges, get feedback on ideas and presentations from judges and mentors, and compete for both the grand prize and audience choice award.
Visit the website for more information.
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The MIT Sloan Investment Conference is an annual student-led event that brings together some of the most notable individuals in the investment world to educate and connect a wide range of financial industry participants.
Our past keynote speakers have included some of the industry’s greatest luminaries, David Rubenstein (Co-Founder/Co-Chairman of the Carlyle Group), Howard Marks (Co-Founder/Co-Chairman of Oaktree Capital Management), Seth Klarman (Founder/CEO of the Baupost Group), and Robert Merton (Nobel Laureate for his work on the Black-Scholes-Merton options pricing model).
The theme of the 2024 conference is "Thriving in the Unknown: Capitalizing on Change and Disruption", Throughout the day, we’ll hear from distinguished Keynotes and Panelists as they discuss a range of topics pertinent to the industry today through the lens of continued change and disruption. We will have panels covering public and private markets, impact investing, the family office perspective, and more.
Visit the website for more information.
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The MIT Sloan School of Management invites you to join its annual ETA conference: New Frontiers in SMB Acquisition - People, Process & Technology. The conference will serve as a beginner-friendly introduction to a career in small business acquisition and serve as a platform to network with students, searchers, operators, investors, and policymakers.
The conference aims to promote SMB ownership as a catalyst for social impact. We will highlight the success of diverse operators using innovative strategies and technologies.
We will explore small business ownership as a career path regardless of prior experience, skillset, race, ethnicity, and gender.
Visit the website for more information.
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We are excited to announce the 2024 MIT Sloan Healthcare and Bioinnovations Conference! The student-led event will take place in person on Friday, February 23rd. This year’s theme is “Breaking Barriers: Innovating for Healthcare Access”. We are excited to bring together academia, industry and policy leaders within the healthcare ecosystem to discuss key issues and topics in the space.
The MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize 2024 will take place the day before on Thursday, February 22nd. All are welcome!
Visit the website for more information.
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The MIT Sloan Fintech Conference is one of the largest student-run conferences in the world. Taking place on February 23, 2024, it will bring together over 500 attendees including investors, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, students and professors.
This year's topics include the application of AI in finance, developments in real-time payments, VC trends in fintech, and the evolving digital assets landscape.
Visit the website for more information.
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The Asia Business Conference highlights the key business challenges, practices, and innovations that are shaping Asia today and tomorrow. Through discussion and dialogue, the conference endeavors to create a platform that connects East and West, with the aim of educating and preparing the next generation of leaders in Asia.
Visit the website for more information.
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The MIT Sloan Product Conference is a student-led annual event that brings together a diverse group of product leaders and professionals from top tech organizations and growth-stage startups to discuss important issues product managers face in today's industry. In addition to insightful panels, the conference features a hackathon, as well as recruiting events, networking dinners, and a number of other opportunities to engage and connect students and professionals interested in this market.
Visit the website for more information.
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OUR OBJECTIVE: Challenge the business community to better solve defense problems. Entering its third year, the 2024 HBS and MIT Sloan Technology and National Security Conference will accelerate defense innovation by bringing practitioners and thinkers from the public and private sectors together to solve national security problems. This year’s theme, “Innovating for Democracy: What Does It Take to Win?” reconciles the implications of the unprecedented rate of technological advancement in conjunction with the DoD’s halting shift away from a Cold War-era acquisition mindset as we enter the middle of the so-called “Decisive Decade.”
The race to contain Russia, out-compete China, and secure free access to the global commons highlights the current strengths and weaknesses of U.S. industrial and innovation capacity. The DoD has begun to pivot towards a more agile acquisitions framework, and investors have poured money into new defense contractors. However, it’s not clear if these changes will be enough. Policy and contracting have struggled to keep pace with technology, and Washington and Silicon Valley still seem to lack a mutual understanding. Beyond the United States, these insights are particularly relevant to allied and partner defense and industrial policy as senior U.S. decision-makers look to foster cooperation on shared geopolitical challenges. This conference will explore the strategies, trends, and investments shaping this landscape.
How can we build a defense eco-system that ensures that we win?”
Visit the website for more information.
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Join us on March 9th for our annual MIT AI & ML Conference, where leading experts will come together to talk about AI and explore how this technology will impact our lives, work, and the world. We are expecting speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Cohere, Pika, Adobe, Lightspeed Ventures, and much more.
This year, the theme of the conference is "Leading the W(ai)ve", with goals to inspire future AI leaders, provide practical business innovation insights, and connect current and future tech and business leaders. Don't miss this opportunity to network with industry leaders and gain valuable knowledge that will help you stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly evolving field!
Visit the website for more information.
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ACCELERATE is the second phase of the MIT $100K Competition, focusing on teams in the prototyping stage. Semi-finalists will have a small budget, access to industry experts, and a dedicated month to test the idea’s manifestation into a product or service. Teams then present their prototypes behind closed doors. Ten outstanding finalists compete live for a Grand Prize and Audience Choice Award.
Visit the website for more information.
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For the 9th year consecutive year, the New Space Age Conference will gather industry leaders, university students, and space enthusiasts at MIT Sloan! Join us as we discuss the exciting challenges and tremendous opportunities available in the rapidly emerging space economy. At the conference, we will have seasoned professionals debate on future space industries such as deep space mining, commercial space stations, and earth observation satellite constellations, as well as a full day of networking, informal sharing of ideas, and collaboration!
Visit the website for more information.
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Brazil Conference is an annual conference organized by volunteer students and researchers on the MIT and Harvard campuses. The event is recognized for bringing together great Brazilian and global leaders, but also promoting social impact programs, bringing young Brazilian entrepreneurs and researchers to the United States. Through this work, the conference aims to promote transformative discussions to instigate positive changes in our country. In 2024 the 10th anniversary edition will be celebrated!
Visit the website for more information.
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The MIT Sloan Africa Innovate Conference (AIC) is an annual event that brings together industry, academic, investment, and policy leaders from within and outside Africa to discuss key issues on innovation and business development. As a conference led by students at MIT Sloan, our goal is to curate an event that supports networking, learning, and idea generation across students and industry professionals.
Visit the website for more information.
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Join us at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium on Sunday, April 21st, 2024!
The student-led MIT Sloan and HBS Latin American Business Conference has been organized annually for more than a decade. It is a hub for LatAm leaders and change-makers, creating space for networking, recruiting, meaningful dialogue, and learning.
Visit the website for more information.
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After nearly a 10-year hiatus, the MIT Sloan Gaming Industry Conference is BACK for a second round! Join us on April 26th, 2024 at Building E14 on the MIT campus for a deep dive into the gaming industry. Panels and keynote speakers will cover trends within the gaming industry, emerging gaming technologies, blockchain gaming, gaming venture capital and much more!
Visit the website for more information.
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LAUNCH is the grand finale of the MIT $100K Competition. Semi-finalists are expected to present full business plans to a panel of judges. Finalists will have access to a pool of mentors and MIT's Communications faculty to help them hone their business plan and pitch, which they will present onstage to a live audience from Cambridge, Boston, and beyond. Companies worth more than $16B in market capitalization have walked the stage before them. The winning team takes home the $100,000 Grand Prize!
Visit the website for more information.
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MIT’s inaugural student-led Real Estate Conference will bring together industry leaders, academic research, and student voices to discuss the current state of the Real Estate industry with an emphasis on the road ahead. Keynotes and panel discussions will discuss how Emerging Technology, Financial Markets, Policy, and Global Macroeconomic trends converge to compel Innovation in the largest asset class ubiquitous to our every day.