2,893 Inspirational Passion Project Ideas
Turn inspirations into your passion project.
This collection of project ideas, shared by Polygence mentors, is meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.
- AI/ML
- Animation
- Arts
- Biology
- Biotech
- Business
- Cancer
- Chemistry
- Cognitive
- Computer Science
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Dentistry
- Economics
- Engineering
- Entomology
- Environmental Science
- Ethics
- Fashion
- Finance
- Game Design
- Healthcare
- History
- Illustration
- Languages
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Math
- Medicine
- Music
- Neuroscience
- Nutrition
- Organizational Leadership
- Philanthropy
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Physics
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Quantitative
- Social
- Social Science
- Sports Analytics
- Statistics
- Surgery
Review Paper: The Economics of Climate Change
An in-depth look at current economic models and how they contribute to excessive industry emissions, and suggestions on how to revise them to fit the changing environmental and financial climate.
Business
Whose Democracy Is It, Anyway?
As a student and a reporter with Bloomberg News. I've spent the past four years studying elections around the world - how people vote, why they vote, and how much those votes matter. One of the most active debates in political science is whether all votes count equally when it comes to shaping public policy. Research has shown that the opinions of the rich and well-to-do are generally reflected in new laws, while those of regular citizens have almost no correlation. For this project, we'll collect data about major legislation passed over the past thirty years as well as detailed public opinion polling about the issues in question. We'll then run statistical analysis to determine which groups have the highest likelihood of getting their desired policies passed. Our final product will be a detailed dataset showing how represented each group within society is that can be turned into a publication-ready paper!
Economics, Creative Writing, Business, Finance
1. Beginner Legal Research & Writing
In this project, you will research and draft a persuasive legal memorandum. I'll present a factual scenario and present certain perimeters to limit the scope of the scenario. This process will teach you how to develop your critical thinking skills, you'll develop your research skills, and you'll learn how to draft a memorandum. You will gain skills in writing and editing, persuasion, as well as a baseline understanding of certain legal concepts.
Business, Finance
Innovative Iphone App for Health Monitoring
Healthcare is trending towards increasing personalization of health data tracking. This project will propose an innovative app to track and record relevant health data as it pertains to patients with diabetes to improve their health related outcomes.
Biology, Arts, Healthcare, Business
Ever wondered how a summer internship can help students?
We can work together to design a research project that looks at how summer internships affect high school students. Do they experience increased aspirations to pursue a certain career? Are they more motivated to do well at school? Do they get better grades? This project will offer you the chance to learn how to design a survey, collect data, conduct interviews, analyze data, and improve your academic writing style. I am open to working on this topic, or any other economics topic(s) of your choosing! For a previous research project, I worked with my advisor on a similar topic. Here is what we found: Recently, policymakers and researchers have explored how time spent outside of the classroom, including early work experience, can affect educational outcomes and reduce inequality across racial and socioeconomic groups. Although research has demonstrated that high-intensity work-based learning programs improve high school graduation and post-secondary enrollment, little is known about the effects of stand-alone private sector employment experiences on student outcomes. We study a unique program that brokers employer-paid summer job internships for Boston public school youth across 150 private sector firms in a variety of industries such as healthcare, finance, biotechnology, higher education, and real estate. Using data from school administrative records, we employ both fixed effects and matching models to estimate the impact of receiving a private sector placement on both high-school and post-secondary outcomes. Both models show similar impacts on outcomes that can be measured repeatedly over time with significant improvements in high school attendance and course failures associated with having had a private sector placement during the summer. Furthermore, we use our matching model to explore outcomes that occur only once, finding that private sector job experience increases standardized test taking as well as the likelihood of on-time high school graduation and college enrollment. These results suggest that private sector employers have an important role to play in the “ecosystem” of summer jobs, beyond government sponsored programs, to support experiences that help prepare youth for both educational and career pathways into adulthood.
Languages, Economics, Math, Business, Statistics
Changes in Public Perception of COVID-19 Pandemic
How has public sentiment about COVID-19 changed since the beginning of the Biden administration? This project would analyze a selection of popular threads and comments in the social media community /r/coronavirus, seeking to identify thematic changes and content exemplars through the period of executive transition to the present. This research would be beneficial for public health advocacy, science communication, and political organizing.
AI/ML, Public Health, Business
Intensive Study: The Scenes of a Neighborhood
How do you get to know a neighborhood? What is local knowledge vs. expert knowledge? From an urban design point of view, how do we perceive our environment? How does the local connect to a greater network? How does the past and present inform the future? By starting small and working from the most concrete details of one's surroundings, the student will gradually build up to a greater understanding of a particular place and one's role in relation to it. The project will be structured around a series of modules with deliverables that will combine to form a final report on the neighborhood.
Economics, Business
Decision-Making in the Wild
One example of a project would be exploring decision-making in the wild. This would be diving deep into an interesting behavioral science phenomenon (e.g., hot hand fallacy) and pairing it with academic articles and real world world data. An example could be exploring the hot-hand fallacy, the notion where people believe that after a string of successes, an individual or entity is more likely to have continued success, and how often it has been discussed in media. From this data, you could explore whether the dissemination of this effect to the public has had any affect on people's beliefs around the concept. One way you could look at this is through NBA data and how often people have taken consecutive shots since before and after the fallacy was defined. The final outcome would be a paper and presentation showing how this concept can be seen in the real world. I'm happy to work on a variety of different project outcomes such as scientific research papers, discussion papers, and multimedia project and presentations.
Social, Business
What Is The Carnivore Diet?
There has been a recent interest in the 'carnivore' diet - a diet consisting of consumption of purely meat-based products and meat - which has been anecdotally successful at treating patients with immune disorders. Clinical studies on the carnivore diet's impact on longevity, health, and other metrics have been few however. Is it a fad? Or is there a key insight about it that could be beneficial for those looking to improve their health? Learn how to design a clinical trial to test the impact of nutrition on human health through this 'tasty' project!
Neuroscience, Computer Science, Photography, Chemistry, Math, Business
Measuring the income inequality and social mobility using Gini coefficient and intergenerational elasticity
This project aims to use data from the World Bank, the OECD, and other sources to calculate the Gini coefficient and the intergenerational elasticity of income for different countries and regions over time. The project will also explore the factors that influence these measures and their implications for economic development and social justice. The project will require skills in data collection, analysis, and visualization. The project will be relevant for students who are interested in comparative economics, development economics, or public policy.
Economics, Math, Business, Statistics
Brainstorming Scientific Project Ideas and Assisting with Research Methodology
I can help brainstorm and develop ideas for research, including in cancer, neuroscience, biology, immunology, psychology, microbiology, pharmacology, stem cell biology, genetics, virology etc
Biotech, Music, Business
Purchasing Small Businesses
Are you interested in entrepreneurship but unsure of where to start? Have you considered purchasing an existing small business as a pathway to entrepreneurship? This student mentorship project offers a unique opportunity for you to delve into the process of purchasing small businesses, guided by experienced mentors. By the end of the project, you will have a solid understanding of the steps involved in acquiring a small business and be equipped to pursue your entrepreneurial goals. Expected Outcomes: 1) In-depth understanding of the process and strategies involved in purchasing small businesses. 2) Ability to evaluate and assess potential acquisition opportunities based on market analysis and due diligence. 3) Knowledge of negotiation techniques and deal structuring to achieve favorable terms. 4) Insights into post-acquisition integration and management strategies for successful business transitions. 5) Enhanced entrepreneurial mindset and business acumen.
Literature, Social Science, Business, Finance
A Deep Dive into Social Media and Consumer Behavior (shopping, brand loyalty, cancel culture, and more).
Are you curious about how social media (e.g., TikTok) affects shopping behavior among teenagers and young adults? Do you ever wonder what factors lead to greater online shopping? Or what makes certain products more appealing than others? What causes businesses to flourish? Many of our everyday questions can lead us to scientific inquiries. You can pursue these topics either in the form of a scientific review-style paper on a topic of your choice or an independent survey study. A scientific review will teach you how to find, access, and critically analyze existing scientific literature and how to assemble primary literature into a scientific review. You will gain skills in writing and editing, as well as an in-depth knowledge of your chosen research topic. An independent study will show you how to design a survey, collect and analyze data, and report your findings.
Social Science, Business
Zero-Gravity Design
Exploring the differences between Earth versus space gravitational forces and their effects.
Computer Science, Math, Business
Symmetries throughout natural processes
What does heat flow, electric circuits, and fluid mechanics all have in common? They can all be described by the same mathematical equations. We will explore why this is the case, study the relevant history of mathematics, and learn how to model these systems on your computer.
Physics, Engineering, Math, Business, Finance
Creating Business Models with NFTs
NFTs enable true digital ownership of assets in digital worlds. However, NFTs have unique properties that make traditional business models difficult and enable capabilities that are not obvious at first glance. Explore the current application of NFTs (digital identity, metaverse, gaming, etc) and how they can be used in future use cases.
Engineering, Business
Development of new cancer treatment with targeted medicine
Using our understanding of the human body and cellular markers, let's develop a new drug target to treat certain cancers. This project would involve a literature review of the latest research studying specific cellular markers that only cancer cells exhibit and designing a drug to target those markers. The goal of this project would be to publish our findings in a scientific journal and/or poster presentation at a conference.
Biology, Cancer, Social Science, Business
Jumpstart Your Entrepreneurial Journey in Ten Steps
Jumpstart Your Entrepreneurial Journey in Ten Steps Ever dreamed of spearheading your startup? Whether you have a concrete business concept or are still seeking that lightbulb moment, our program is tailored to escort you through the entrepreneurial pathway. Leveraging my diverse startup experiences and in-depth knowledge about entrepreneurship, my objective is to help you validate your startup idea and turn it into reality through ten interactive sessions. Together, we will explore the various types of startups, brainstorm viable business ideas, define your target market, and develop a robust business plan. In the proceeding sessions, we will venture into the nuances of marketing, financial management, team dynamics, product development, scaling tactics, and more. By the end of these sessions, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial process, primed to kickstart your startup journey. Let's do it!
Business, Organizational Leadership
The Business Impact of Good Product Design
Using systematic analysis, determine the monetary value to a company of investing in good design.
Psychology, Business, Organizational Leadership
Real Estate
Location is the prime factor when establishing any commercial real estate property (industrial, retail, multi-family, office, hotel). With a shift in the economy, many rent regulations and terms of loans have changed, while underwriting on properties has improved. We will cover: -Why many loans on properties default (can’t make a payment) -How underwriting before and after the stock market crash in 2008 has changed and developed Project: The student will pick a real estate property to invest in, given the circumstances of the market, and justify their choices in a paper or presentation.
Business, Finance
