Syracuse University will host a free, virtual U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) regional course this fall. The program is designed for STEM researchers and early-stage startups who are interested in exploring the market potential of their work and learning valuable entrepreneurial skills.
Participants will learn how to take innovation from the lab to the market, and to position themselves for future funding through grants and private investment.
Registration is now open through August 7. The course is open to all faculty, postdoc, doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students, as well as community researchers, especially those working with universities. Teams from all Northeast universities and community-based incubators and accelerators are also encouraged to apply.
The virtual course will run Sept. 9 – Oct. 2 (with course pre-work beginning August 30). Is being taught by Syracuse University NSF-trained instructors, and is being offered free of charge through SU as a partner in the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps).
The program is funded by the NSF, and the Interior Northeast consortium includes Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of Vermont, and West Virginia University. The Hub is part of the National Innovation Network, connecting researchers, entrepreneurial communities and federal agencies to help commercialize research.
The virtual course combines self-directed online learning activities with Zoom-based class meetings and one-on-one instructor mentoring. Any sufficiently developed tech innovation team (beyond ideation stage) is welcome to apply. The course teaches teams how to identify target customer segments, find their value proposition, conduct customer discovery and formulate a more effective product-market fit. Teams present their findings for feedback and learn about the national I-Corps program and various other tech commercialization grant opportunities.
Course Dates
- Course opens for pre-course work: Friday, August 30, 2024
- Session 1: Monday, September 9 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Session 2a: Wednesday, September 11, individualized coaching
- Session 2b: Friday, September 13 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Session 3: Monday, September 16 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Session 4: Wednesday, September 18, individualized coaching
- Session 5a: Wednesday, September 25 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
- Session 5b: Monday, September 30 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Session 6: Wednesday, October 2 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Read more about Syracuse University’s participation in the new IN I-Corps Consortium and its $15 million STEM innovation program.
For additional information:
Jeff Fuchsberg, CASE: jrfuchsb@syr.edu
Cristiano Bellavitis, Whitman School of Management: crbellav@syr.edu
Linda Dickerson-Hartsock, SU Libraries: ldhart01@syr.edu