Position Summary

The Venture Fellows program is a 12-month, part-time fellowship (24 hours per week, on-site at the Science Center’s Philadelphia campus) for graduate students and early-career professionals who want hands-on experience in venture investing and early-stage company development. Four fellows are selected each year. The program is designed to develop both the analytical rigor of an investor and the operating instincts of a founder. Fellows graduate with a portfolio of completed work and a co-authored investment thesis.

The Venture Fellow has internal contact with the entire staff and external contact with clients and vendors. This position has access to sensitive UCSC company information and is expected to handle such information with integrity and professionalism. This position is expected to represent the UCSC in a professional manner. The Venture Fellow will report directly to Senior Director Innovation. This position will participate in department activities as necessary.

What You’ll Gain

By the end of the fellowship, you will leave with:

• A portfolio of completed analytical work: investment memos, market maps, research notes, and founder-facing deliverables you can show.

• A published section of the cohort’s capstone investment thesis on aging and longevity, presented to the team and broader community.

• Direct working relationships with early-stage founders and practicing venture investors.

• Practical fluency in how an early-stage health portfolio is evaluated, tracked, and supported over time.

• A clearer sense of whether your own path runs toward investing, operating, or building.

Essential Functions

Investment Evaluation

• Write investment memos on early-stage life-science, MedTech, and health-tech deals sourced by the team and from outside networks.

• Early in the fellowship year, participate in team evaluation meetings to observe how deals are assessed.

• Over time, take on increasing responsibility within each evaluation: building the analysis, sourcing information, and delivering a recommendation.

Market Research

• Own a focused area of the market (such as gene therapy delivery, point-of-care diagnostics, or behavioral health software) and become the team’s working expert on that sector.

• Produce monthly research notes and build and maintain a market map for the assigned coverage area.

• Interview founders and outside practitioners in your coverage area.

• Bring your market perspective into the cohort’s capstone investment thesis.

Company Engagement

• Work with Science Center portfolio companies on specific, scoped projects.

• Contribute to projects such as customer discovery, fundraising materials, partnership strategy, or board materials.

• Deliver a defined output for each engagement: a research memo, target list, financial model, market summary, or draft document.

• Develop founder-side operating instincts alongside your investor lens.

Portfolio & Alumni Engagement

• Hold quarterly check-ins with an assigned set of alumni companies to track progress over time and surface risks early.

• Maintain consistent touchpoints between check-ins and capture current needs across hiring, capital, space, and partnerships.

• Update each company’s record in the team’s CRM and internal tracking systems after every meeting, and classify needs according to the Science Center’s Needs Identification Process.

• Keep records accurate and current, resolving inconsistencies and standardizing entries.

• Flag high-priority or time-sensitive issues promptly and coordinate handoffs to the appropriate team members or programs.

• Deliver a short written update each week covering what was completed, what is at risk, and what requires input.

Investor Conversations

• Participate in at least six structured conversations across the year with practicing venture investors, focused on how deals are sourced, how investment judgment is built under uncertainty, and the parts of the work that are not visible from the outside.

• Prepare for and write takeaways from at least one session.

Capstone: Emerging Fund Thesis

As a cohort, develop a complete investment thesis as if you were launching an emerging venture fund focused on the aging and longevity market.

• Define the fund’s strategy, focus areas, and point of view, drawing on each fellow’s coverage area.

• Co-author and align on the thesis across the cohort.

• Present the finished thesis to a review board of investors and subject matter experts at the close of the fellowship year.

Additional Responsibilities

• Adhere to UCSC’s security guidelines and ensure the appropriate handling of sensitive information.

• Facilitate and attend relevant team meetings to promote communication and execution of goals.

• Complete special projects specific to the function of the department, or as directed by Science Center management. 

• Attend relevant workshops or join professional industry groups as necessary to maintain professional knowledge.

Other duties as assigned within the scope of position expectations 

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong written analytical skills: ability to scope a question, source credible information, and deliver a clean written product on deadline.

• Background or coursework in life sciences, health care, business, or a related field.

• Comfort with data management: keeping records accurate, resolving inconsistencies, and producing clean summaries from complex inputs.

• Comfort working directly with founders and investors in a professional setting.

• Genuine interest in early-stage health innovation, whether clinical, technical, or commercial.

• Proficiency with standard office and productivity tools; familiarity with CRM platforms a plus.

Experience, Education, and Licensure

Minimum Experience: Currently enrolled graduate student or early-career professional. Demonstrated interest or coursework in venture investing, healthcare innovation, life sciences, or a related field is a plus.

Minimum Education: Bachelor of Science degree and completion of or current enrollment in an advanced degree program required.