UCF I-Corps Now Accepting Applications for Spring Cohort
Scientists and Engineers Interested in Taking Ideas Beyond the Lab are Encouraged to Apply
UCF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) – an accelerated program outlining the most important first steps in developing a business around research and ideas –is actively seeking scientists and engineers from universities and research centers from around the state. I-Corps teams generally consist of an Entrepreneurial Lead (EL), Principal Investigator (PI) and Industry/I-Corps Mentor. The 2016 recruitment schedule is as follows:
Capacitech (Cohort 3) utilizes nanoscale materials to develop a coaxial cable with supercapacitors. Pictured from left to right: UCF PhD student Chao Li and undergraduate student Joe Sleppy (Entrepreneurial Team Leads); Dr. Jayan Thomas, UCF Nanoscience Technology Center (Academic Team Leader). Not pictured: Dr. Greg Howes, President & CEO of Treaty Consulting Group, (Team Mentor).
I-Corps – UCF Site Cohort 5
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 @10am – Application Deadline
Friday, May 13, 2016 – Start of UCF Site Cohort 5
I-Corps – UCF Site Cohort 6
Wednesday, August 3, 2016 @10am – Application Deadline
Friday, August 12, 2016 – Start of UCF Site Cohort 6
I-Corps – UCF Site Cohort 7
Friday, September 30, 2016 @10am – Application Deadline
Friday, October 14, 2016 – Start of UCF Site Cohort 7
The I-Corps program provides aspiring entrepreneurs with an immersive, hands-on curriculum designed to teach them how to test their ideas, gauge feasibility, understand consumer demand, examine competition and develop mutually beneficial partnerships to help transition their ideas into profitable enterprises. Experienced advisors and mentors oversee the teams and coach them toward success.
“I-Corps is designed to help student and faculty researchers turn their innovations into potential business opportunities using the proven National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps model,” says Kapono Curry, program director for UCF I-Corps. “The previous cohorts made excellent progress toward commercializing their ideas. We look forward to seeing what the 2016 teams have to offer.”
In addition to the standard curriculum, Cohort 4 selectees have the opportunity to hear from teams, mentors and members of the teaching teams from past cohorts. Once teams complete the UCF I-Corps program, the path to commercial market continues with opportunities for funding in NSF’s national
I-Corps program and SBIR/STTR grant funding. Teams are also able to tap into the entrepreneurial ecosystem within UCF and the community.
UCF’s nationally certified teaching team is comprised of a diverse mix of experienced entrepreneurs, investors and UCF faculty including Thomas O’Neal, Oscar Rodriguez, Michael O’Donnell, Cameron Ford, Ivan Garibay and David Metcalf. The UCF I-Corps teaching team earned its certification via the training and support of Jerry Engel, a professor at Berkeley (University of California), National Faculty Director of the NSF I-Corps program and co-creator of the Lean Launchpad methodology and curriculum.
For more information, please contact Vanessa Zabala at vz@ucf.edu.
