Lead a study group
Study Groups provide Harvard Kennedy School students the opportunity to engage meaningfully with specific topics and themes outside their regular coursework, with students from across HKS degree programs. The Reimagining the Economy Project provides students the opportunity to curate speakers and sessions around a specific topic related to our work.
Deep Tech and Economic Development Study Group
The development of “deep tech” - new technologies rooted in fundamental science and engineering advances - has the power to reshape industries and provide substantial societal benefit. The Deep Tech and Economic Development study group in Spring 2026 explored how these technologies developed over decades of collaboration across the public, private, academic, and social sectors and how deep-tech innovations drive long-term economic change, and examine contemporary efforts to accelerate breakthroughs in quantum computing, advanced materials, hydrogen energy, and more through effective policy, institutions, and partnerships. Guiding themes included:
The role of private and public sectors in the development of “deep tech” and various tools to support advancement and deployment
How “deep tech” can serve as a vehicle for regional, state, and local economic development
Spillover effects, including workforce upskilling, infrastructure upgrades, and adjacent industry development
North America Supply Chains Study Group
The North America Supply Chains Challenges and Opportunities study group in Spring 2025 delved into the evolving landscape of supply chains across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. It examined pressing issues like capacity constraints, levels of regional integration, and sectoral dependencies, questioning whether current frameworks benefit the region. Amid economic tensions with China and the upcoming renegotiation of the North American free trade agreement, the group explored how political uncertainties and risks might impact supply chain resilience and integration. They worked together to identify strategies to strengthen North American supply networks in a shifting global economy.
Future of Coal Regions Study Group
In Spring 2023, we co-sponsored the Future of Coal Regions Study Group with the Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program, for Harvard students to learn and share knowledge about the challenges facing coal-producing regions, to identify opportunities for overcoming these challenges, and to foster connections and collaborations between students, faculty, and affiliates. The study group focused on coal-producing regions around the world, but the discussion is expected to generate insights applicable to other fossil-fuel-producing regions.