VC firm Highland Capital Partners is issuing a call for applicants for their 3rd annual “Summer@Highland” entrepreneurship program. Highland is trying to tap into the same early-stage, young talent pool as start-up incubators like Y Combinator and TechStars.
Highland’s 10 week program is only open to enrolled graduate and undergraduate students or recent graduates (no later than December 2008). But only one member of a start-up team has to meet this criterion. Teams can have up to 4 people and will be given the option of working in the VC firm’s Menlo Park, CA or Lexington, MA offices. Stipend amounts range from $7,500 to $15,000, depending on how many people are part of the team.
Interestingly, Highland doesn’t ask for anything in return, like some incubators and programs do. Depending on the success of the idea, Highland says that some start-up teams could qualify for seed funding. Similar to most startup incubators, Highland is giving the startup teams access to investment professionals and industry leaders along the way. Also, Highland stipulates that preference will be given to ideas that somehow involve the VC fund’s areas of expertise, including information and communication technology, digital media, life sciences, advanced materials & semiconductors, cleantech.
The deadline for applications is April 9, 2009. Here’s more information.