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Spark Tank

Dive into Spark Tank, where we fuel innovation for student-entrepreneurs, who translate their ideas and ingenuity into their own businesses and non-profits.

Our Spark Tank incubator, founded in 2015 by The Dwight School Foundation, quickly became a Dwight signature program, distinguishing us as one of the first schools to empower students in grades K-12 to launch their own enterprises. Spark Tank teaches students entrepreneurial, innovation, and leadership skills beyond the classroom. From the germ of an idea to market launch, young entrepreneurs receive guidance, mentorship, and funding through Foundation innovation grants to bring their ideas to fruition. 

Spark Tank is deeply aligned with the School's mission to ignite the spark of genius in every child. Here, students pursue their passion projects, ranging from designing new products and starting their own businesses, to making a difference in the lives of others through socially responsible initiatives and their own non-profit organizations. 

Inside the Tank

Following the IB design thinking and problem-solving cycle, students develop their projects in the incubator through five stages. They bring their concepts — and real-world problems they want to solve — to Spark Tank after school to work closely with faculty advisors.

Throughout the journey, students present their projects to a panel of judges for feedback and funding to translate their ideas into reality. Along the Spark Tank pathway, students learn a range of practical and business-related skills, including budgeting, product development, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, pitching, and public speaking, providing invaluable experience and preparation for the working world.

Judges are members of The Dwight School Foundation’s Spark Tank Committee comprised of parents and alumni in our community who are industry leaders. Their insights help students refine their projects and advance to the next stage in the development cycle. Those who reach the launch stage receive an innovation grant. 


 

Dwight’s incubator stands apart from those at the college level — it's based on Dwight’s belief that students shouldn’t have to wait to join the over-18 sector to pursue their dreams. When I talk about Spark Tank with parents around the world, they all say, "I want this great program at my children’s school."

- Dave Lindsey, Dwight parent and former founding Chair of the Spark Tank Committee

Spark Tank in Action

One Thousand Notecards and One Dream: Aidan Rizvi’s Peace Panda Project
One Thousand Notecards and One Dream: Aidan Rizvi’s Peace Panda Project

Aidan Rizvi ’30 not only excels academically at Dwight, but has developed a variety of interests, from LEGOs and robotics, to origami and squash. Gathering his creativity, talent, and ambitions for the greater good, he has started his very own charity in order to affect meaningful change.

Read More about One Thousand Notecards and One Dream: Aidan Rizvi’s Peace Panda Project
Changing the World, One Spark at a Time
Changing the World, One Spark at a Time

“Connecting West to West,” a Spark Tank project developed by Mariam Diallo ’25, provides school supplies to schools in West Africa and empowers students to take advantage of educational opportunities, exemplifying Spark Tank’s far-reaching impact on Dwight students and communities worldwide.

Read More about Changing the World, One Spark at a Time

Spark Tank on TV