DDuV-Lab at a glance
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Term
Fall
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Units
9
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Eligible students
All MIT Sloan graduate and undergraduate students, and cross-registering students
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Prerequisites
No
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Bid/Application
Bid
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Travel
No
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Host organization profile
Tech startups, government innovation organizations (e.g., DIU, SBIR/STTR sponsor programs), and venture investors focused on DSR. Organizations face challenges in government procurement, regulatory navigation, go-to-market strategy across commercial and government markets, fundraising, and more. If students have their own startups that they’d like to focus on, we will consider them on a case-by-case basis.
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Sample projects
Analysis of dual-use/defense tech venture; defense, national security, or disaster relief customer discovery; “Dual-Use Readiness Level” analysis; go-to-market strategy bridging commercial and government markets; supply chain resilience and operational security evaluation; fundraising and capital-stack planning
The class
Once the semester starts, students apply individually and are put into groups based on the projects they want to work on. Class sessions combine topical lectures on dual-use technology, strategy, regulation, and go-to-market; case studies and founder discussions; team workshops; and sessions with recurring mentors and individual guest practitioners from government, venture capital, and the startup world. The primary deliverable is a final strategic analysis and recommendation presented to the host organization as well as a mock STTR application with an MIT researcher or lab.
Student timeline
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Early September
Course begins; students rank projects and are formed into teams
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Mid-September
Teams connect and do initial discovery with host organizations
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Early October
Initial deliverables and host check-ins
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Mid-October
Mid-term report submitted
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Late November
Draft recommendations delivered to hosts
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Early December
Final presentations to host organizations and class
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Mid-December
Final written deliverables due