airbus: madrid

Beacon has partnered with Airbus for several years, including programs in 2019, 2022, and 2023. Airbus is the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe and a top 10 defense company worldwide. With roughly 180 locations and 12,000 direct suppliers globally, Airbus segments include commercial aircraft, helicopter, defense, security, and space. The divisions are propelled forward by Airbus Innovation, inventing new possibilities for the future of flight: from manned and unmanned vehicles for urban mobility, to hybrid and electric propulsion systems for cleaner aviation.

ROCHE: BARCELONA

As the world's largest biotech company, Roche creates innovative medicines, cancer treatments, and diagnostic tests for hospitals and labs around the world. With a unique combination of strengths in its two divisions – Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics – Roche is a multinational company based in Basel, Switzerland.

VUELING: BARCELONA

Vueling is one of Europe’s leading low-cost airlines and a member of the prestigious International Airlines Group, along with British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia. Overall, Vueling operates 117 aircraft serving more than 360 routes to 136 airports in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with nearly 12 million departing seats per year in Barcelona alone. As Vueling continues to expand across Europe, it has also developed significant bases in Paris and Rome.

CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HOSPITAL: WASHINGTON, DC

Children’s National Hospital has been consistently ranked one of the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1870 and serving the D.C. metro area, Children’s National is a respected leader in pediatric research and advocacy for children. The Child Health Advocacy Institute (CHAI) started over 30 years ago as the first hospital-based policy center to focus on child health. Using a population health approach and managing the Child Health Data Lab, CHAI works on the ground and with policymakers to combat D.C. kids’ most pressing health issues and to address disparities in childhood opportunity.

UNICEF: GENEVA

UNICEF is one of the most recognizable social welfare organizations in the world. An agency of the United Nations, UNICEF works in over 190 countries to reach the children and young people in greatest need. The world’s largest provider of vaccines, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality education and skill-building, HIV prevention and treatment for mothers and babies, and the protection of children and adolescents from violence and exploitation. UNICEF is on the ground before, during, and after humanitarian emergencies, and over the past 75 years, they have been leading advocates for the rights of children.

FONDAZIONE IRCCS POLICLINICO SAN MATTEO: PAVIA

Policlinico San Matteo was founded in 1449, and is a short train or bus ride away from Milan. This public hospital has a strong university presence and is a general hospital that covers all aspects of medicine, and has a strong commitment to research, service, and teaching. This hospital was at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis, being one of the first to treat cases in the western hemisphere, and is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in Europe.

REVOLUT: LONDON

Revolut is a fintech unicorn (‘unicorn’ = a privately held startup valued at over $1 billion) based in London, England and founded in 2015. Valued at $5.5 billion during its most recent round of funding, Revolut is a fintech firm that has become known as a pioneer in digital banking, with over 12 million users on its mobile app as of January 2021.

Cabify: madrid

Cabify is the “Uber” of Europe & Latin America, and the ride-share company is Spain’s first unicorn start-up (i.e. a start-up valued at more than $1 billion). Cabify was founded on a high prioritization of sustainability and a unique attitude toward “Mobility-as-a-service,” and unlike Uber, is already on a fast track toward profitability.

NOKIA: BUDAPEST

Nokia Skypark, Nokia’s headquarters in Budapest, operates the Nokia Networks Global Technology Centre, one of Hungary's largest IT and telecommunications R&D centers.

THE SALVATION ARMY: WASHINGTON, DC

The Salvation Army non-profit organization exists to meet human need wherever, whenever , and however they can. Beacon worked on an optimization project for their Red Kettle initiative that found a solution to increase profitability in one region by 13%.

THINKWELL: WASHINGTON, DC

ThinkWell is a leading nonprofit organization in health financing and systems development. Based in Washington, D.C., they work to improve healthcare in low and middle income countries, aligning the public and private sectors and forming teams on the ground to develop creative solutions for each country's unique capacities and political infrastructure.

GLOVO: BARCELONA

The “Uber Eats” of Europe, Glovo is an on-demand courier service that purchases, picks up, and delivers products ordered through its mobile app. Their aim is to give everyone easy access to anything in their city, having a sustainable impact on the economy, society and environment.

LIFESAVER: LONDON

Lifesaver Power LTD is an innovative start-up working towards a more sustainable model for society and revolutionizing the future of renewable energy on the move. Their mission is to provided fairer, cleaner, circular power for both people and the planet.

WorldLabs: London

WorldLabs is a digital global innovation platform that fast-tracks the development of innovative ideas. Beacon Fellows helped WorldLabs to create a sales strategy to penetrate the American market.

Vendi: London

Vendi is a peer-to-peer marketplace to buy and sell verified products, and is an interesting combination of tech and direct to consumer sales.

WEBHELP: BARCELONA

Webhelp is a leading customer experience outsourcing company with a global footprint in more than 36 countries, 140 locations and 50,000 employees.

FINTONIC: MADRID

Fintonic is a leading personal finance application for organizing accounts and saving money. Winner of the Google Award for mobile innovation, they serve more than 700,000 users.

Madrid, Spain, Winter 2020: Fellows consulted for Airbus BizLab and researched international markets for several innovative new product lines. Read about one of our Admissions Coordinators and her experience on the Airbus project in Madrid this past winter here.

“It was a great experience as they got quite engaged and interested in the product itself. It was good to see the seriousness with which they worked. The project leader was a constant support to them for their learning. It was very professional and information-rich presentation. Everyone in the jury was happy and amazed to see the progress they made in such a short amount of time…The work done by Beacon fellows is precious, and we will take it into our account for sure.”

- Akshay Gupta, Innovation Engineer | Airbus, Emerging Technologies and Concepts (XTC)

Washington, DC, Winter 2020: Fellows consulted for The Salvation Army on an optimization project for the Red Kettle initiative with great success. Read more about the Salvation Army project and what our fellows learned through consulting with meaningful impact here.

“Given the complexity of the project and time constraints, the Project Lead asked the right questions…The adaptability of the Beacon Fellows to the task stood out. They were self-motivated and keen to learn and ensure the project being a complete success…It will be a pleasure working alongside the Beacon Fellowship again.”

- Ruth M. Mwanza, Executive Assistant | The Salvation Army

Andreas Feller | ‘19 Beacon Client | Co-founder & CEO, WorldLabs

“We are a digital ecosystem for innovation, which means we bring together innovators from the private and public sectors — that could be corporate, but also entrepreneurs and researchers — in order to collaborate and explore opportunities… The Fellows made a great addition to our team. They had a great impact on our outreach strategies. They helped us to actually create a sales strategy to penetrate the American market, which we could also implement at the end. It's a very unique project, also interesting for the Fellows, because in the start-up environment, they could work on researching the strategy but they could at the same time implement it at the end of the four weeks.”

Pablo Gonzalez Iglesias | ‘19 Beacon Client | Co-founder & CEO, Vendi

“Vendi is a peer-to-peer marketplace to buy and sell verified products. The Fellows are helping us by tapping into the challenges that we are facing. In terms of brand awareness, we’ve gone out to the streets and created a few events, interviewed customers so they know a bit better about Vendi and we understand them also. In terms of expanding into new countries, [the Fellows] have been able to do fantastic research... the impact is very positive for the company, because they provide us the data we need to make the decisions that we want to make relatively quickly.”

Note: these firm names are listed for informational purposes only; they do not constitute or imply an endorsement or an approval by any of the firms of the Beacon Fellowship.