Ways to Get Involved

There are many opportunities for UC Berkeley students to gain skills in teamwork, research, program management, communications and marketing, and event planning with the Institute for Business & Social Impact (IBSI).

If you’re a UC Berkeley student interested in engaging in experiential learning with IBSI, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Student Innovation and Projects

Depending on funding available, IBSI looks for opportunities to fund student innovations and projects.

In 2025-2026, IBSI was proud to support multiple Berkeley student projects, including:

  • Improving Accessibility in Everyday Banking: Designing for Vision-Impaired Users – This Master in Information Management Systems (MIMS) student team developed finSight, a voice-activated tool to support blind and low-vision users with more accessible mobile banking. Learn more here – https://finsight-blv.com/
  • Baseline Assessment and Strategy for Equitable Implementation of Personal Finance Education Policy – This Master of Development Practice (MDP) student led a capstone project focused on California’s Assembly Bill 2927 (AB 2927). AB 2927 requires every public high school in the state to offer a stand-alone one-semester Personal Finance course as a graduation requirement, with the first required graduating class in 2030-31. The policy represents a major statewide curriculum mandate in California’s K-12 system. Yet the law provides limited guidance on how districts should implement the requirement. Key decisions related to staffing, curriculum selection, scheduling, and implementation sequencing are largely left to local education agencies. This capstone addresses this missing middle by developing a decision-support toolkit that translates AB 2927 from policy into implementable steps. Coming Soon!
  • Evidence-Based Personal Finance Curriculum for Equitable Implementation of Personal Finance Education Policy: This Master of Public Policy (MPP) student led a capstone project focused on California’s Assembly Bill 2927 (AB 2927). Evidence from financial capability research consistently shows that curriculum quality and pedagogical design are decisive in determining whether education translates into durable knowledge, behavior change, and improved financial outcomes. Curriculum content, instructional design, and delivery mechanisms vary widely in effectiveness, and without an evidence-based framework for selecting, testing, and evaluating materials, AB 2927 risks producing uneven or inequitable outcomes across districts and student populations. This capstone focuses on the quality, effectiveness, and equity of instructional content and delivery mechanisms.  Coming soon!

In past years, IBSI supported tracks focused on inclusive financial technology in Blum Center’s Big Ideas program

Student Assistants and Academic Student Employees

IBSI staff hire student assistants to support specific administrative workstreams and faculty hire Academic Student Employees (ASEs) in pre-doc, graduate student researcher, and post-doc positions to support and lead research efforts.

In 2025-2026, IBSI amplified student voices through student-led IBSI blogs focused on programs, research, and on-campus events. Highlights include the launch of a Research Brief & Blog series and takeaways from events on Shared Ownership and Civic Innovation.

Priya Haji Award

The Priya Haji award for continuing students pursuing summer internships in areas that further the mission of IBSI in the area of social innovation and entrepreneurship with enterprises that might not be able to compensate interns at market rates. Students must have a summer internship at a verifiable startup/non-public company, not founded by the applying student, received a specific and substantive written job/internship offer, and the internship is for a full-time, summer position for at least 8 weeks in duration. For more information, please visit Haas Financial Aid webpage.  For profiles of our past winners, please visit our past winners page.

Student Groups

IBSI collaborates with diverse student groups that reflect our commitment to building a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable society. If you are involved in a student group and see room for collaboration with IBSI, reach out!