Northwestern Problem Summit

The Garage hosts more than 2,000 entrepreneurially curious students from across the University on an annual basis. Most of these students have ambitions of starting a company, but many do not yet have an idea, or a problem that they've identified they're passionate about solving. Often, these students resort to solving "campus problems," or small things that they and their classmates might find annoying about college life.

However, when students are exposed to larger societal problems - outdated medical devices, energy shortages, or unsustainable fast fashion to name a few - they build companies like Hubly Surgical, Blip Energy, and Beni (among many more!)

The inaugural Northwestern Problem Summit invites the Northwestern community to share the big, pressing problems in their disciplines with hundreds of Northwestern students from across the University eager to solve big problems in the world. Our goal is to expose students to dozens of problems worth solving, and focus their energy and enthusiasm on these important issues.

On February 28th, 2026, the Northwestern Problem Summit will consist of presentations from the Northwestern community sharing the big problems that they hope will inspire action from Northwestern's ambitious, entrepreneurial students. Students will have an opportunity to ask questions and connect with others interested in solving the same problems.