The Crossroads Emerging Leaders Program, incubated at the Mittal Institute, has grown into the Aspire Institute, an independent nonprofit empowering first-generation and limited-income university students to reach their full potential. Today, Aspire reaches hundreds of thousands of learners around the world, extending the impact of an initiative that began at the Mittal Institute.
The Crossroads Emerging Leaders Program was launched in 2017 by Harvard Business School Professors Tarun Khanna, former director of the Mittal Institute, and Karim Lakhani, in partnership with the Harvard Business School Club of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Mittal Institute. The initiative later spun out of the Mittal Institute as the independent Aspire Institute, a global nonprofit whose Aspire Leaders Program connects first-generation and limited-income learners with education, mentorship, and opportunities around the world. Meena Sonea Hewett, the Mittal Institute’s first director, helped build support for the initiative within and beyond Harvard.
Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School.
Global Recognition: The Bellagio Center Residency
Since its launch, Aspire has evolved from an in-person program into a scalable online learning platform serving first generation and limited-income learners around the world. Its work connects young people around the world with opportunities to learn, build networks, and develop the skills and confidence to pursue their goals. Aspire has also developed a network of Global Foundries—locally led, in-country teams that extend its presence into communities around the world, recruiting and supporting students, building relationships with universities and local partners, and engaging alumni—with Foundries in Mexico City, LaPaz, São Paulo, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Lahore, and Bangalore. In 2026, Tarun Khanna was selected for the Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious Bellagio Center Residency Program. The Program brings together leaders from around the world for focused work, collaboration, and interdisciplinary exchange. Aspire’s evolution demonstrates how initiatives incubated at the Mittal Institute can grow beyond Harvard, creating opportunities and generating impact on a global scale.