Project Prana Foundation
Project Prana Foundation
Program Type
Domestic
Organization Name
Internship Location
Remote
Organization
Project Prana Foundation (PPF), a registered 501(c)(3) founded by Prof. Shriya Srinivasan (Harvard SEAS), facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation from classroom to clinic. PPF disrupts and rebuilds global health systems through affordable, patient-centered innovations, connecting students and student-led groups with clinical partners. Its educational programming includes workshops, bootcamps, short courses, and fellowships designed to cultivate creative thinkers and innovators ready to address global health challenges.
Position Overview
The selected intern will join PPF’s mission to bridge the gap between classroom and clinic by sourcing needs from grassroots healthcare and clinical organizations worldwide. They will engage with diverse stakeholders, document problem statements, and help develop capacity-building programs in education and healthcare. The intern will gain exposure to global health disparities and experience running an early-stage nonprofit focused on innovation and sustainability.
Project Details
Two potential projects:
Lessons Learned Library
Conduct interviews with student innovators, clinicians, researchers, and seasoned healthcare innovators.
Document case studies on innovation failures or pivots.
Critically analyze projects using health systems, public health, or implementation science frameworks.
Create a searchable internal library for curriculum and future innovators.
Problem Bank
Interview diverse stakeholders to gather real-world needs and problem statements.
Translate insights into concise, well-framed needs.
Categorize and map needs to clinical sites, partner organizations, and potential mentors.
Contribute to the development of a front-facing platform for student–clinical site matching.
Intern Responsibilities
Lessons Learned Library
Conduct and summarize qualitative interviews.
Critically analyze innovations and extract key lessons.
Write structured case studies and synthesize cross-case insights.
Collaborate on curriculum integration and teaching materials.
Problem Bank
Conduct stakeholder interviews and convert insights into structured needs statements.
Categorize needs by geography, specialty, and system context.
Build and maintain a structured repository of problem statements.
Support technical development of the platform for student–clinical site matching.
Draft guidance documents for innovators engaging with the problems.
Qualifications
Lessons Learned Library
Strong written communication and qualitative research skills.
Background in public health, health systems, biomedical sciences, social sciences, or related fields.
Organizational skills and ability to work independently.
Preferred: experience with case study writing, healthcare innovation frameworks, and knowledge management tools.
Problem Bank
Strong interpersonal and communication skills for stakeholder engagement.
Ability to translate raw insights into well-framed needs.
Background in public health, health systems, communication, implementation science, or related fields.
Preferred: experience with qualitative research, design thinking, clinical partnerships, coding or technical platform development, database organization.
Learning Outcomes
Stakeholder interviewing and needs-finding.
Qualitative analysis and critical thinking.
Healthcare innovation foundations.
Communication and report writing for case studies.
Program and platform development.
Insight into nonprofit operations and social enterprise development.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration skills.
Nature of Internship
Research / Program Development
Work Environment
Fully remote with occasional in-person meetings SEAS as needed. Flexible schedule with collaborative virtual engagement.
Keywords
Advocacy; Biomedical Engineering; Clinical Exposure; Community Engagement; Education; Health Equity; Health Systems Strengthening; Technology/Innovation