Panchery, Sidebotham, & Israel Announce Plans for New Climate-Tech Mentorship Program at Rutgers

Rutgers University climate-tech organization CliMit has announced its long-anticipated transition from startup to mentorship group with a new program, The CliMit Fellowship.

CliMit, founded in July 2021 by Rutgers seniors Michael Panchery and Katie Sidebotham , has had a storied history over its two-year span. It underwent the Honors College Innovation Lab in the fall of 2021 under the guidance of Kristy Gillio Fall and Mukesh M. Patel , advancing to the quarterfinals of the TCU Neely Values & Ventures global competition shortly after. During the Spring 2022 semester, CliMit was accepted into the Clinton Global Initiative University program for worldwide student ventures with profound social impact. At this time, CliMit's team size neared 50 Rutgers students across four departments, with over 150 applicants from colleges across the country. During the Fall 2022 semester, CliMit represented Rutgers Entrepreneurs at TechUnited 's Propelify Innovation Festival in Hoboken, NJ. The organization's product and research began garnering interest from distinguished professors, particularly in the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy as well as federal organizations such as the NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration .

Slated to launch in September 2023, The CliMit Fellowship is a highly selective mentorship/accelerator program that will select 40 Rutgers first and second-year students to participate. These students will be divided into 10 teams and assigned roles based upon their areas of study and expertise. Over the course of the semester, they will compete to design a climate-tech related solution, within parameters, that will be presented and scored across four categories: Leadership & Strategy, Research & Purpose, Technology & Development, and Marketing & Branding. In addition, the fellowship will contain lectures and guest speakers from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds to enrich the experience for fellows.

The objective of the fellowship is not only to establish the framework for startups and projects that can follow fellows throughout the remainder of their collegiate careers, but also to expand networks, enhance inter/intrapersonal skills, and give rise to the next generation of Rutgers University's great leaders.

The CliMit Fellowship is currently partnered with the Innovation, Design, & Entrepreneurship Academy at Rutgers University and Road to Silicon V/Alley (RSVP) programs at Rutgers University, with more to come.

A full description and application is available at www.climit.info.