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Philips to "play" in the MIT Sandbox to support student innovation & the mentoring of young talent

February 16, 2016

  • Supports Philips goal of fostering innovation inside the company and within the Kendall Square ecosystem
  • Latest MIT collaboration goes beyond research to supporting new ideas and the next generation of student entrepreneurs

Cambridge, MA, USA – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced its support of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Sandbox Innovation Fund Program. Championed by Dean Ian Waitz, and led by Executive Director Jinane Abounadi, MIT’s Sandbox Innovation Fund Program is designed to bring innovation to the education, inspiration and mentoring of student entrepreneurs and innovators across MIT. The program complements Philips’ existing research collaboration with MIT and supports the company’s corporate goals of helping to drive innovation within the Kendall Square ecosystem to further advance technologies that help build a healthy society.


“The primary aim of the MIT Sandbox Program is to develop students, not necessarily startups or products. The learning will be in the context of advancing a student’s entrepreneurial venture or innovative idea — one that serves an important market or social need,” says Ian A. Waitz, dean of MIT’s School of Engineering and the originator of the program. “It is designed to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be more effective when they go off in the world and practice MIT’s brand of deep scientific and technological innovation.”


Open to all undergraduate students and graduate students at the Institute, the MIT Sandbox program will connect qualified students with tailored educational experiences, mentoring, and up to $25,000 in grant funds to help nurture their creative brainstorms throughout their time at MIT, whether they have a seed of an idea, a nascent technology, a specific startup in mind, or are planning the next moonshot. Accepted proposals will be accompanied by milestones and/or co-curricular requirements tailored to the needs of the individual student or team. All participants will be matched with mentors leveraging the alumni and non-alumni networks in the area.


Philips is a founding corporate sponsor of the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program, and Brian Rosnov, innovation lead at Philips Cambridge Innovation Labs and MIT alum, will also be an advisor on the MIT Sandbox funding board. Rosnov is among many MIT alumni who can be found working on some of healthcare’s biggest challenges at the Philips Cambridge Innovation labs.  


“At Philips, we want to support a healthy society from creating the neo-natal intensive care unit of the future, to finding ways to help people manage chronic diseases, to developing new ways to use ultrasound to detect traumatic brain injuries, to technologies that will allow older individuals to remain at home and independent, but that requires fostering new ideas,” said Rosnov.  “Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum and by pairing some of the best young minds in the world with over 100 years of global healthcare experience, we hope to find new and inventive ways to address some of society’s biggest challenges.”


Information regarding MIT’s Sandbox Innovation Fund Program can be found at http://sandbox.mit.edu

For further information, please contact:

Silvie Casanova
Public and Media Relations, Philips North America
Tel: +1 (978) 659-7457
E-mail: silvie.casanova@philips.com

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About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2015 sales of EUR 24.2 billion and employs approximately 104,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.


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