宾州大学公园. — The 国家科学基金会 has joined in supporting Penn State’s goal of taking more of its discoveries to market by awarding Penn State a five-year, $500,000 Innovation Corps (I-Corps) grant to establish the 创造欧博体育官网 I-Corps Site in collaboration with Ben Franklin Technology Partner’s TechCelerator, 欢乐谷LaunchBox, 创建欧博体育官网的创新中心.
The 创造欧博体育官网 I-Corps Site will provide mini-grants, commercialization training and mentorship for up to 30 startup teams per year. These training boot camps will help 发明ors begin customer discovery, learn about the commercialization process, 与经验丰富的企业家建立联系, determine if a market exists for their innovation. The benefits of participation are numerous.
入选队伍将:
- 获得最高2美元的小额奖助金,500, which can be used to attend industry trade shows, 拜访潜在客户, 开发原型, 并承担客户发现费用;
- have a dedicated mentor who meets with teams to provide business expertise, 关于场地发展的建议, 融资策略, 并帮助建立联系网络;
- have opportunities to showcase their new venture at the 创建欧博体育官网 & IP会议 2018年4月19日至20日;
- become eligible to apply for an I-Corps 国家 Teams $50,000 grant award. (This is an alternate 国家 Teams eligibility path for PI’s who have not previously received NSF funding); and
- qualify for an increasing number of NSF grant awards that require NSF I-Corps training as a criteria for eligibility.
教师, 工作人员, 研究生和本科生, recent alumni and community members interested in exploring the commercial viability of their idea or innovation can apply to any one of a number of established boot camps based on the lean startup and customer discovery methods endorsed by NSF I-Corps.
At University Park, eligible teams can apply to one of two qualified programs for fall 2017:
Ben Franklin Technology Partner’s TechCelerator program
位于创新园区, TechCelerator specializes in commercialization support for faculty research-derived technologies in complex, 通常的监管, 市场. 秋季申请截止日期为9月9日. 15, 2017.
欢乐谷LaunchBox FastTrack Accelerator
Located on Allen Street in downtown State College, 欢乐谷LaunchBox specializes in support for early-stage, scalable startups focused on emerging 市场, digital innovations or novel business models. 秋季申请截止日期为10月10日. 15, 2017.
At Penn State Altoona, eligible teams can apply to:
阿尔图纳LaunchBox 8-week Training Program
位于阿尔图纳市中心, LaunchBox engages future business owners and local entrepreneurs to explore their startup business ideas and get feedback on challenges they face.
These I-Corps programs are grounded in the same customer discovery-focused philosophy taught at the Penn State Clinical & 翻译研究所 创新项目, which is sponsored by the 国家 Institutes of Health.
资格
- 欧博体育官网教师, 研究生, 本科生, 工作人员 and recent alumni are eligible to apply.
- Eligible projects must be in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) discipline.
- 每队应由三人组成:
- 学术带头人 who will serve as principal investigator (PI) — typically a 欧博体育官网教师 or 工作人员 member
- 企业家领导 — a student, faculty/工作人员, recent alumni or community member
- 商业导师 — to provide experienced perspectives to the team; mentors will be assigned if needed.
- Teams must commit to attending required workshops and cohort meetings. Check program details for more information on the associated time commitment.
- Teams must perform a minimum of 30 customer interviews by the end of the program.
问题
联系James Delattre (电子邮件保护) for questions on eligibility or award details. Penn State Commonwealth Campuses interested in participating in the 2018-19 创造欧博体育官网 I-Corps Site expansion should contact Rick Brazier at (电子邮件保护).
关于发明欧博体育官网
创造欧博体育官网 is a Commonwealth-wide initiative to spur economic development, 创造就业机会和学生事业成功. 创造欧博体育官网 blends entrepreneurship-focused academic programs, 创业培训和孵化, 商业化资金, University-community collaborations to facilitate the challenging process of turning research discoveries into valuable products and services that benefit 宾西法尼亚ns and humankind. 连接在 发明.事业单位.edu.
