LITE-Extension
Objective:
The 2 month LITE-Extension program is designed and offered ONLY to students who have completed the introductory LITE Fellows Program. The objective is to maintain continuity of education, providing the fellows an opportunity to learn the topics that were not covered during the main program and is more designed along the lines of interest and feedback from the individual participants. Of equal importance is the need and benefit of maintaining relationships and engagement of LITE students with the fellow classmates.
Program details, format and topics:
The program would span 2 months, with a starting date of 5th (Saturday) September 2026 and end date of 24th (Saturday) October 2026. The sessions would be carried out over the weekends, and virtually. At present, we are imagining 4 sessions of 60 min each during each weekend.
The LITE-Extension is expected to touch up on the following topics (a portion, not all) based on the feedback provided:
* Starting and running a medical clinic/practice
* Stocks and investing
* Running a non-profit
* What is leadership?
* Review of venture capital
* Pros and cons of working in a medical field
* Effective pitching (developing a pitch deck)
* Know what happens if a startup fails
* Basics of marketing and sales
* Public speaking public speaking
* Basics of managing your money
* Careers in biotech and fintech
* Intellectual property licensing
* Introduction to system dynamics and mental models
* Step by step building of a DCF model
The degree to which these topics will be covered during the 2 months will be a balance between depth of content and ability of the students to comprehend the subjects.
Facilitators:
Ahmed Afifi is a global investor, private equity executive, entrepreneur, and strategist with over two decades of experience building, managing, and growing investment platforms across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. He is recognized for combining strategic vision with disciplined capital allocation, leading investments, acquisitions, and value-creation initiatives across diverse sectors and markets.
As Founder and CEO of Continuous Infrastructure, a Cambridge-based investment and advisory firm, Afifi advises institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and multinational corporations on investment strategy, transaction execution, capital structuring, and portfolio management. Under his leadership, the firm has established a strong track record of originating opportunities and creating long-term value through active investment management and strategic partnerships.
Afifi also serves as Senior Strategic Adviser to the Board of Nebras Power Investment Management BV, the international investment platform of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Previously, as founding CEO of Nebras Power Netherlands BV, he built and led a USD 4 billion international investment platform spanning multiple markets and jurisdictions. As Chairman of the Investment Committee of Common Investments Holdings BV, he oversees one of Northern Europe's largest family-office portfolios and serves on the boards of several international companies.
Suman Lal is the founder of Technology Innovation Studio (TINS), a physical space in Kendall Square that brings together business leaders, scientists, serial entrepreneurs, investors, industry experts, corporate innovation teams, and policy experts to explore and apply tools, methods, and models in innovation.
Suman is a Senior Advisor to the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), which operates innovation campuses and labs across the US, Europe, and Asia. In his previous role, he worked closely with the CIC leadership team to advise diverse stakeholders in cities and regions around the world on building innovation infrastructure and ecosystems. He is also a Senior Advisor to the Venture Cafe Global Institute (VCGI), which operates Venture Cafe gatherings in 15 cities, often described as the heartbeat of several innovation districts.
He is currently an Industry Advisor in Healthcare and Medicine at MIT Sloan School of Management. Suman has deep experience in technology commercialization: making independent inventions, licensing intellectual property from major research institutions to form NewCos, and operating venture studios where he took interim CEO roles at portfolio companies.
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The TA for LITE-Extension is Paritosh Raikar (Tosh). Please feel free to reach out to Tosh if you have any questions.