Silicon Valley Bank is to take 18 of the nation's top university students on a three-day tour of the Californian tech hotspot, where they will be introduced to a 'who's who' of influential investors and entrepreneurs.
Students from nine universities across the US will make the 'SBV Trek' to Silicon Valley in early January, where they will gain insight and advice on getting started in the technology industry, finding a business soul mate, perfecting their pitch, and bouncing back after failure.
The students will have an opportunity to visit Stanford’s d.school, StartX, the offices of Andreessen Horowitz, BIRST and Mattermark, co-working facility WeWork Golden Gate, and Silicon Valley Bank’s offices on Sand Hill Road.
“We see The Trek as an investment in the future of the tech industry and consider these students pioneers of innovation,” says Ashraf Hebela, managing director with Silicon Valley Bank. “We are extremely grateful to our friends and partners who will act as guides to the students and share their advice and experiences. We aim to help move bold ideas forward fast, and since many tech companies get their start at the university level, we thought what better way than to offer bright, ambitious, future entrepreneurs the experience and insights of successful leaders from the tech sector.”
The nine partnering universities were invited to select two students "who best represent the spirit of the innovation" from their school, says Hebela.
The group is a mix of male and female graduate and undergraduate students majoring in computer science (28%), advanced sciences (22%), humanities (22%) and MBA students (28%).