MOUNTAIN VIEW Calif., June 21, 2022 – Diversity by Doing HealthTech (DxD), a nonprofit that seeks to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the health technology innovation ecosystem, will hold a Summer Innovation and Exploration Series for college students interns from underrepresented groups in health technology on June 23-24, 2022. After debuting in an online format last year with 20 interns, this year’s high-touch, in-person program was oversubscribed and will include 44 students from more than 30 colleges interning at medtech companies across the country.
Designed for student interns who are women and/or Black, Latinx or Indigenous, the Summer Series will be held at Fogarty Innovation and Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign, the two organizations that jointly formed and support DxD. The program is intended to broaden the students’ knowledge of career opportunities in medtech and help them build mentoring and career development networks. Over the course of two days, the students will interact with top executives from multiple companies in the medtech ecosystem including Abbott, Avestria Ventures, Cala Health, Canaan Partners, The Foundry, Outset Medical and Stryker, in addition to the leadership of Fogarty Innovation and Stanford Biodesign.
During the program, the interns will participate in lecture-style presentations, small group activities, and hands-on workshops to explore career trajectories, various aspects of running a company, and the Biodesign innovation process. Sessions will introduce a wide variety of skills from networking to finance, concluding with a “speed mentoring” event in which each intern will have one-on-one conversations with health technology executives.
“We developed the Summer Innovation and Exploration Series to target the early funnel of healthtech employees,” said Ingrid Ellerbe, executive director of DxD. “Participation in the program makes a company’s internship program more competitive while at the same time encouraging companies to hire interns from underrepresented groups. Once we get these interns in the pipeline, we give them tools that can help them succeed – a better understanding of opportunities, high level contacts, role models and mentors, and a supportive community of peers.”
DxD was launched in 2020 following a study published in Annals of Biomedical Engineering that revealed numerous workplace inequalities in the health technology industry that negatively affect women. Respondents reported that they didn’t feel like part of the team at work and their ability to rise was hampered by a lack of access to the networks of power and influence that open the doors to leadership positions. The survey also found that mentoring made a difference in terms of job satisfaction and an inclusive environment. DxD focused on gender initially, but now focuses on racial equity and other dimensions of diversity.
“In order to innovate for a diverse population and improve the quality of care and outcomes for racially and culturally disparate groups, we must increase diversity in our industry,” said Andrew Cleeland, CEO of Fogarty Innovation. “DxD is committed to that goal and focuses specifically on the small to mid-sized companies that don’t have the capacity to launch stand-alone diversity programs. By planting this seed, we expect that as the companies grow, so will their commitment to inclusiveness.”
“Improving health outcomes and health equity is central to the mission of Stanford Biodesign. By introducing diverse undergraduate students to mentors and career possibilities available in this life- changing industry, we can create a pipeline of talent with the diversity of perspective and experience needed to transform care for all patients,” said Josh Makower, MD, co founder and director of Stanford Biodesign.
About Diversity by Doing (DxD)
DxD is an industry-based collaborative that seeks to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the\ health technology innovation ecosystem. In collaboration with its partners, DxD empowers diversity change agents in small- to mid-stage healthtech companies by providing education, expert voices, experiential programs and practical resources. DxD has built a suite of program that address diversity across the pipeline, from early programs like the summer seminar, to speed mentoring programs for early and mid-career individuals, to a free lecture series that helps companies operationalize DEIB in hiring, supply chain, and corporate culture. DxD was founded and is supported as a partnership between Fogarty Innovation and Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. For more information, please visit https://diversitybydoing.org.
About Fogarty Innovation
Headquartered on the El Camino Health campus in Mountain View, California, Fogarty Innovation is a leading medical technology nonprofit dedicated to advancing human health worldwide. Driven by a dedicated team of seasoned experts in the field, the organization fosters stronger alliances among innovators, industry and government, creating a powerful engine for the invention, development and deployment of new health technologies into the care pathway. Fogarty Innovation was founded by Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, a world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon, inventor, and entrepreneur. For more information, please visit https://fogartyinnovation.org.
About Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign
Co-founded in 2001 at Stanford University by Paul Yock, MD and Josh Makower, MD, Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign is committed to advancing health outcomes and equity through innovation education, translation and policy. We believe that diversity across multiple dimensions inspires creativity and helps us innovate for all patient populations. To date, more than 7.6 million people have been helped by technologies invented at Stanford Biodesign, and the Biodesign innovation process has been widely adopted by universities and training programs around the world. For more information, please visit https://biodesign.stanford.edu/.
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