Undergraduates and MBAs to compete for prizes in new Teper Innovation Challenge
- Stern alumni Jeff Teper (BS ’86) and Alexandra “Sandy” Teper (BS ’85) establish The Teper Innovation Challenge at Stern with an anchor $5 million gift that will also enhance frontier technology at the School
- Cohorts of Stern undergraduate and graduate student teams will build AI-native solutions to business challenges
- Each year more than $100K will be awarded in prize money to winning teams
NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NYU Stern alumni Jeff (BS ’86) and Alexandra “Sandy” (BS ’85) Teper are investing in AI-driven experiential learning at their alma mater. With a $5 million gift to the Stern School, they are launching The Teper Innovation Challenge to provide hands-on opportunities for students to build AI-native startups and develop innovative solutions to real-world business problems.
The Teper Innovation Challenge will be held each spring, culminating in more than $100K in prize funding annually for students. The Challenge, which will formally launch in the coming weeks, will begin in the spring 2027 semester and feature separate tracks and awards for Stern’s undergraduate and graduate students.
“Jeff and Sandy have spent their careers breaking new ground in technology and business yet they have always made time for Stern,” said Bharat Anand, Dean of NYU Stern. “We are enormously grateful that they are giving our students the same opportunity they had to push boundaries and experiment boldly. Advances in AI are making it easier than ever for anyone to turn ideas into something tangible. By encouraging students to build and test their own ideas, learn what works and what doesn’t, and discover what they’re capable of, the Challenge will advance precisely the kinds of active and experiential learning that have always been the hallmark of Stern.”
More broadly, the Tepers’ gift will also expand access to frontier technology for Stern students and support the thoughtful integration of advanced AI tools into Stern’s educational experience.
Jeff and Sandy, both Stern Scholars, met as undergraduates at Stern, which was the launch pad for their careers in technology. Jeff is currently Executive Vice President for Apps and Agents at Microsoft where he launched and grew SharePoint to a billion-dollar business and has led teams through the cloud and AI sea changes.
“We had an incredible experience at NYU spanning software engineering and business during the personal computer revolution and applying these learnings in our careers,” said Sandy and Jeff. “Now with the even larger artificial intelligence transformation, we are thrilled to support Stern students as they explore, collaborate, and create opportunities in this next wave of technology and the economy.”
Jeff Teper was among the inaugural group of industry leaders to join Stern’s Tech Board. The establishment of the Tech Board coincided with the launch of the School’s one-year Andre Koo Tech MBA program, a first in a new class of specialized MBAs, that deepened ties with New York City's flourishing tech ecosystem. Through the years, he has regularly hosted Stern students at Microsoft in Seattle, sponsored experiential learning projects in New York City, and most recently served in an advisory role to Stern faculty who developed one of the first agentic AI courses at a business school. The Teper Innovation Challenge represents the next frontier to empower students to pioneer novel ideas while developing important AI-building skills for their careers.
About NYU Stern School of Business
New York University Stern School of Business, located in the heart of Greenwich Village and deeply connected with the City for which it is named, is one of the nation’s premier management education schools and research centers. NYU Stern offers a broad portfolio of transformational programs at the graduate, undergraduate and executive levels, all of them enriched by the dynamism and deep resources of one of the world’s business capitals. NYU Stern is a welcoming community that inspires its members to embrace and lead change in a rapidly transforming world. Visit www.stern.nyu.edu.
Contact Jessica Neville jneville@stern.nyu.edu
