At Princeton, professional development is graduate-student centered by design. For Chemical and Biological Engineering Ph.D. student Ke (Kevin) Xu, that philosophy has inspired a hands-on approach to thinking about his future – and a passion for encouraging his peers to do the same. Throughout his Ph.D. training, Xu has participated in and helped co-create multiple programs with GradFUTURES and other campus partners. As vice-president of the Graduate Consulting Club, Xu helped co-create a Wintersession workshop that became the Structured Problem Solving like Consultants GradFUTURES Learning Cohort, which he continues to help facilitate. As a Professional Development Associate partnering with the GradFUTURES team during the pandemic, he helped to launch Virtual Meet-Ups that fostered connection between engineering graduate students and graduate alums. Each experience revealed new possibilities for his research, which focuses on sustainable, scalable manufacturing of natural products using yeast. 

Professional development has also inspired Xu to bring an entrepreneurial mindset to the lab. To learn how venture capital works, he pursued a Social Impact Fellowship with Foundation Venture Capital Group. It illuminated concrete steps to commercialization – and sparked meaningful connections.

Xu notes that being a part of GradFUTURES has illuminated unexpected skills. Ongoing work with the Structured Problem Solving cohort, for example, amplified his interest in mentoring and teaching. To that end, he has parting advice for his fellow Ph.D. students: Plans change, he says. The best way to prepare for the future is to continue to get out there and explore.

“I was very interested in exploring what a career in venture capital looks like and gaining real-life working experience. Scott Alpizar was an excellent mentor. We became good friends, and continue reaching out to each other when we need each other’s advice – it is very much a constructive bi-directional relationship. When I was exploring commercializing my Ph.D. work and founding a startup, he provided lots of guidance. Going from being a researcher to an entrepreneur is really a mindset change.” – Kevin (Ke) Xu, GS, Chemical and Biological Engineering

Alpizar’s ability to articulate those steps reflects his own path. He translated his neuroscience Ph.D. into a career focused on sourcing and evaluating potential investments.

"The skills I learned during my time in my Ph.D. program prepared me for a job in any industry – even in venture capital, where I had no previous experience. Resources like the GradFUTURES Social Impact Fellowship will not only bolster your current abilities. It will help lay an invaluable foundation of skills and experiences.” – Scott Alpizar, Director of Venture Commercialization, Foundation Venture Capital Group

Read more: In 2023, Xu was honored with a Clio Hall Award for his work with GradFUTURES.

Our Fellowship Partner

Foundation Venture Capital Group (FVCG) is a Princeton, NJ-based organization that uses impact investing to provide pre-seed and seed funding to health-related start-up companies at our partner organizations (Princeton University, Rutgers University, Rowan University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology, and the Kessler Foundation) to help them advance toward and through commercialization. We work directly with academics throughout New Jersey on very early – sometimes still in the conceptual stage – projects. 

Learn More About GradFUTURES Interdisciplinary Learning Cohorts

GradFUTURES Learning Cohorts are interdisciplinary and co-curricular opportunities that bring together students, alums, faculty, and industry partners to explore diverse professional pathways and focus on current societal, industry, and/or global trends. While each learning cohort is unique, most offer an experiential component such as a site visit, shadowing opportunity, immersive project, or internship/fellowship.