I-Corps Sites: University of South Florida: Catalyzing Research Translation

该项目在南佛罗里达大学(USF)建立了i-Corps站点。NSF创新团队(i-Corps)网站是由NSF资助的实体，成立于大学，其目的是培育和支持多个本地团队，将他们的技术概念转化为市场。网站提供基础设施、建议、资源、网络机会、培训和适度的资金，使团体能够将他们的工作转移到市场或成为i-Corps团队的申请者。II-Corps网站还在当地和区域加强创新，并为由导师、研究人员、企业家和投资者组成的国家创新网络做出贡献。USF的网站将创业中心(CFE)的精益LaunchPad培训流程制度化，并将其技术转移办公室(TTO)的流程转化为帮助教职员工和学生将STEM研究转化为商业上可行的想法和原型。教师和学生是通过积极主动的流程招募的，例如：访问教室、顶峰设计课程、校园研究项目、本科生和研究生研究展示、与拥有STEM相关研究资助的教职员工的个人联系，以及发明披露。TTO还通过利用现有的联系人帮助团队与业务导师建立联系。它们也是为创新相关活动寻找非NSF资金的资源。CFE的教职员工代表商业、工程、医学和可持续发展学院，以为期一周的强化新兵训练营的形式提供NSF培训计划。除了原型阶段，USF CONNECT是USF的业务分支，也是坦帕湾创新生态系统的中心，在整个业务生命周期中为i-Corps团队提供支持，为业务发展和获得技术、劳动力计划、技术商业化、关键研究设备和孵化器设施提供设施、合作伙伴和资源。I-Corps计划通过解决美国联邦创新生态中在创造原型和改进设计方面的一个关键差距，产生了制度上的影响。有了i-Corps网站，增加STEM技术转让的潜力很高，为坦帕湾日益增长的创新生态系统提供了支持，并有助于通过高科技初创企业改变该地区。美国联邦是坦帕湾地区的经济支柱，也是横跨佛罗里达州23个县区的佛罗里达高科技走廊的节点。该州大部分医疗器械制造、国防、航空航天、信息技术和生命科学公司都位于该地区。美国联邦大学多样化的学生群体也是i-Corps Sites计划的目标。NSF/USF支持通向博士学位的桥梁和斯隆少数族裔博士项目，这些项目使USF成为少数族裔(非裔美国人/黑人、西班牙裔/拉丁裔)工程学博士学位的前十大生产商。I-Corps网站还培养了退伍军人学生的创新精神，因为有2100多名退伍军人及其家人在美国陆军注册为学生。

This project establishes an I-Corps Site at the University of South Florida (USF). NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Sites are NSF-funded entities established at universities whose purpose is to nurture and support multiple, local teams to transition their technology concepts into the marketplace. Sites provide infrastructure, advice, resources, networking opportunities, training and modest funding to enable groups to transition their work into the marketplace or into becoming I-Corps Team applicants. II-Corps Sites also strengthen innovation locally and regionally and contribute to the National Innovation Network of mentors, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors. The site at USF institutionalizes the Lean LaunchPad training process at the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) and transforms processes in its Technology Transfer Office (TTO) to facilitate faculty and students to transfer STEM research into commercially viable ideas and prototypes. Faculty and students are recruited for this Site using pro-active processes such as: visits to classrooms, capstone design courses, research projects on campus, undergraduate and graduate research displays, individual contacts with faculty with STEM related research grants, and invention disclosures. The TTO also helps teams connect with business mentors by leveraging current contacts. They also are a resource for finding non-NSF funds for innovation-related activities. Faculty from CFE, representing the Colleges of Business, Engineering, Medicine and Sustainability, deliver the NSF training program in a one-week, intensive boot camp format. Beyond the prototype stage, USF CONNECT, which is the business arm of USF and at the epicenter of Tampa Bay's innovation ecosystem, supports the I-Corps teams throughout the business life cycle, providing facilities, partners, and resources for business development and access to technologies, workforce programs, technology commercialization, critical research equipment, and incubator facilities. The I-Corps program results in an institutional impact by addressing a crucial gap in the USF innovation ecology in creating prototypes and enhancing design. With an I-Corps site, the potential for increasing STEM technology transfer that feeds Tampa Bay's growing innovation ecosystem is high and contributes to transforming the region through high-technology startups. USF is an economic anchor for the Tampa Bay region and a node of the Florida High Tech Corridor that spans a 23-county region in Florida. Most of the state's medical device manufacturing, defense, aerospace, informational technology, and life sciences companies reside in this region. USF's diverse student population are also targeted in the I-Corps Sites program. NSF/USF supports the Bridge to the Doctorate and Sloan Minority PhD programs that have enabled USF to be ranked as a top-10 producer of minority (African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino) engineering doctorates. The I-Corps site also nurtures innovation among students who are military veterans, as more than 2,100 veterans and their families are enrolled as students at USF.