About Us

In an era which is increasingly being defined by AI, the career landscape is evolving with unprecedented speed. Scholar Spark, a mentorship platform that was developed in the Harvard Innovation Lab, matches talented high school and college students with college professors and industry for engaging in rigorous, project-based research. Scholar Spark's dual mentorship model enables students to explore changing fields of knowledge, develop essential skills, and make informed decisions about how their future academic choices can best prepare them for their intended careers.

Founding Advisors

Chris Laird

Brand Builder, Teacher, Advisor

University of Toronto, Harvard iLab

Chris Laird is a recently retired Procter & Gamble executive with nearly 30 years of global brand leadership and P&L experience. He has a proven track record of driving growth across diverse markets—from turnarounds to disruptive innovation for major brands like Tide and Braun. A Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative fellow, Chris now teaches and advises future brand builders at University of Toronto and Harvard's iLab.

Dr. Angela Jackson

Founder and CEO, Future Forward Strategies

Harvard Graduate School of Education | Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard University

Dr. Angela Jackson is a recognized authority on the future of work, the bestselling author of The Win-Win Workplace(a New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today Bestseller), and the CEO of Future Forward Strategies. As a Harvard lecturer, her research focuses on redefining human capital strategies for the modern era. She guides leaders to build agile, high-performing organizations through continuous learning and innovation. Dr. Jackson also serves on the boards of several companies, including Guild Education and Arena Analytics, helping them leverage talent for a competitive edge.

Our Vision

Inspiring Global Scholar/Leaders

We envision a world in which education evolves hand in hand with technology and other essential developments in today's rapidly changing global society. We want to inspire and prepare a global community of scholar/leaders to tackle the world's most pressing challenges by equipping them with knowledge, skills, and insight that will help them succeed in college and beyond.

Our Mission

Transcending Traditional Boundaries

Our mission is to provide high school and college students with a transformative learning experience, fostering in them a scholarly mindset and a deep intellectual curiosity. We believe the next generation of leaders must be equipped not just with field-specific knowledge, but with the skills to think both deeply and broadly across disciplinary lines, if they are to solve complex, real-world problems.

We achieve this mission, in part, through our unique Dual Mentor Model, which pairs each student with both an Academic Mentor (from a top-tier university) and an Industry Mentor. This approach ensures that research students conduct is not only academically rigorous but also relevant to the evolving challenges of our time.

Our Social Mission

Accessibility & Impact

We are committed to making the Scholar Spark experience as widely accessible as we can. Scholar Spark operates as a for-profit venture so we can ensure its long-term sustainability, but we do offer scholarship opportunities for a number of outstanding candidates (with demonstrated financial need). In the future, we look forward to expanding this offering.

Global Reach

Transcending geographic boundaries.

Equitable Access

Scholarships for students in need

Diverse Community

Enriching learning experiences for all

Preparing for one's future requires academic and real-world skills.