From real-world problems to deployable solutions and venture opportunities

The Tech Exploration Lab is a cross-campus platform where students work on real problems from industry and alumni, using applied AI and emerging technologies to build, test, and advance new solutions.

Through hands-on, cross-disciplinary teams, the Lab moves beyond exploration, developing deployable innovations while shaping venture opportunities that can scale.

WHAT WE DO

• Start with real problems
  Sourced from industry partners, alumni, and emerging opportunity spaces
• Build with applied AI and emerging technologies
  Through hands-on, cross-disciplinary student teams
• Prototype and test in real contexts
  To develop deployable innovations and test early-stage ventures
• Advance ideas into venture opportunities
  Including pilots, use cases, and startup pathways
  

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“Working on DermaVision through the Tech Exploration Lab has been one of my most meaningful experiences at UW–Madison. The Lab connected me with peers passionate about AI and healthcare, provided access to advanced tools and mentorship, and helped me turn an early idea into real progress. It’s more than a lab—it’s a launchpad.”

For Industry

The Tech Exploration Lab gives companies a way to explore emerging technologies and new ideas in a fast-moving, low-risk environment.

Industry partners bring challenges, datasets, and strategic questions to the Lab, where student teams explore potential solutions, new applications of emerging technologies, and early-stage venture opportunities.

Industry partners can:

• Share real-world challenges to guide student exploration
• Identify new use cases for emerging technologies
• Engage with highly motivated student talent
• Gain fresh perspectives on strategic innovation opportunities
• Build relationships with potential future interns and employees

“The Lab is unique in that it connects students from across campus with advanced tools and industry mentorship to rapidly prototype and gain essential skills for an increasingly AI-driven world. It’s exciting to watch entrepreneurial ideas develop, and there is significant value in bringing the best of Google’s AI to support students’ exploration.”

— Kristin Storhoff, Google

For Alumni

Alumni play a vital role in helping guide the next generation of innovators.

Through mentorship, collaboration, and engagement, alumni help students navigate real-world challenges and bring practical insight into emerging technology exploration.

Ways alumni can engage:

• Mentor student teams exploring new technologies
• Share industry perspectives and real-world problems
• Host challenges, workshops, or innovation sessions
• Attend lab showcases and networking events
• Support the Lab through partnerships or sponsorship

“I came to the UW Tech Exploration Lab to mentor, but left with momentum. The Lab gave me the space—and the spark—to test a wellness idea I’d been quietly incubating. Working with sharp, driven students helped turn that early vision into a viable concept. It was a powerful reminder that innovation thrives on curiosity, collaboration, and a little Badger grit.”