About

Increasingly, students need to go beyond their classroom work to successfully launch the early years of their professional careers.  They need to develop hard and soft skills, often which are not taught through their coursework.  They need to understand how to navigate the end-to-end recruiting process. And they need to be able to speak the language of business, even if only at a basic level.  

We wanted to make students aware of an exciting new program: LaunchPad Institute: Ireland is a special program of Boston College's Office of Global Engagement that aims to provide an academic grounding in business and build on that foundation with in-depth training modules focused on real-world skills like executive email communications, building effective PowerPoint slides, and creating Excel models for quantitative analysis.

The program is centered on a 9-day trek to Ireland, where students will engage in case studies, receive personalized career coaching, and do company visits.  To reinforce the learning from the training modules and the trek, students will be placed in 6-week professional experiences - designed like internships - focused on a wide range of topics such as strategy, biotech, asset management, and cryptocurrency.

This is an opportunity to build the skills you need to successfully launch into the first years of your professional career.  Although this program is open to all students, it is targeted to first-years and sophomores.  We encourage anyone interested in LaunchPad to apply now!

If you would like to learn more about the program we encourage you to view the info session on the home page of the LPI microsite.  For a quick overview of the program take a look below:

1. Provide students with an academic grounding in the fundamentals of business (e.g., financial accounting, strategic management, and leadership)

2. Enable students to develop critical skills needed to be successful in a business setting (e.g., Powerpoint and Excel)

3. Provide some real-world experience in a professional environment

LaunchPad Institute seeks to help students close this skills gap.  While the program is anchored to the “trek” to Ireland, there are in fact, three components of the program:

The cost of the program is $3,600 and includes housing, activities, and all materials for the trek.  There is a non-refundable deposit of $1,000 due upon acceptance into the program to secure your spot.  This deposit is necessary to book arrangements on the trek and to line up and confirm projects in the Professional Experience Program.  Final and full payment is due my March 1.  All payments are non-refundable.

Applications to the program will continue to be open after the due date, but the cost of the program will increase to $4,600 after February 9.

The cost of the program does not include a flight to and from Ireland.  Students will need to book and pay for their own travel arrangements.

Students should also budget about $30 per day for food, as not all food is provided during the program.

There are several opportunities for students to defray the cost of the program, including the Career Services Eagle Intern Fellowship, Shea Center Internship Program, and Winston Center for Leadership Student Grants.  As the leadership at LaunchPad Institute becomes aware of additional funding opportunities we will communicate these to participants.

*Costs may be subject to change

All participants in the LPI program will need to apply here in order to participate in the program.  This application is not meant to be "competitive;" as long as you fill out the application thoughtfully, you will be accepted into the program.  However, this is an opportunity for the leadership team at LPI to get to know you better.  So be reflective and authentic. 

Once you complete the application, we will contact you within 10 business days to schedule an interview.  The interview will be a 30 min conversation that will build on the application; again, it is a chance for us to get to know you better!

Within a week of the interview, you will receive the decision for your application along with the next steps for getting ready for the program.