I-Corps Sites as an Ecosystem Catalyst

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This is an award to create an Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Site at the University of Delaware (UD) Horn Program in Entrepreneurship. This I-Corps Site will expand this institution's entrepreneurial ecosystem that includes: training opportunities based on lean startup methods; improved physical facilities and service offerings provided by their Venture Development Center; and, an extensive startup support network of engaged entrepreneurs, investors, business service providers, community partners and others. This Site will increase the quantity and velocity of activities aimed at bringing new technologies into the marketplace. The University of Delaware?s Venture Development Center serves as a hatchery/incubator for student startups and will do likewise for I-Corps teams. This Site is likely to impact the ecosystem of the georgraphical region where this institution is located. In the past, Delaware benefitted from the presence of several large, hi-tech employers But, lingering effects from the economic downturn reduced the state's social and economic wellbeing. Consequently, an increase in startup activity, and the associated creation of new jobs, will serve to improve the economic wellbeing of Delaware and the surrounding region. Broader impacts resulting from participation in the I-Corps Program will also include improved educational outcomes and competitiveness for STEM students, and stronger partnerships between academia and industry. The possibility of receiving funding and joining an I-Corps team may incentivize STEM students to learn about innovation and entrepreneurship by participating in existing training opportunities, thereby improving their educational outcomes and competitiveness. Stronger partnerships between academia and industry will result from interactions between I-Corps team members and prospective industry customers as well as the formation of I-Corps teams that will attempt to commercialize industry technology.