From treading the halls of renowned product design companies to hearing Google developers discuss the latest app, 56 Lehigh University students got the experience of a lifetime over winter break, participating in the latest LehighSiliconValley immersion trip to California’s Silicon Valley—a trip that took place as Lehigh is rapidly expanding its presence on the West Coast.
The cohort of undergraduate and graduate students spent 10 days in the hub of entrepreneurship, birthplace of cutting-edge technologies and world-changing business models. They interacted with CEOs, investors, entrepreneurs, inventors, product designers and others who play key roles in building new enterprises to learn about the ecosystem and culture. Along the way, they met Lehigh alumni who lead and innovate at such companies as Google, Adobe and Alaska Airlines and in industries spanning venture capital, software, startups, data analytics, consulting, technology, finance and marketing.
The program, a flagship of Lehigh’s Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation, is one of a growing number of Lehigh initiatives on the West Coast. Among the most notable is the university partnership, launched last year, with the nonprofit Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco. The university has also continued to expand its Western Regional Office, which aims to create new opportunities for current and prospective students and greater connections with industry. Lehigh has about 8,000 alumni in the western region and about 2,000 in the Bay Area.