Type I: Rutgers University I-Corps Site for Entrepreneurship Acceleration

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This project, from Rutgers University, creates an NSF I-Corps Site at this institution.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. I-Corps Sites also strengthen innovation locally and regionally and contribute to the National Innovation Network of mentors, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors.Rutgers University has funded research of over $600M per year. This research generates over 150 patents each year and more than $15M in licensing income annually. A challenge is to transition research outcomes to the commercialization stage. The Rutgers University I-Corps Site cultivates this pool of early stage ideas and assists with bringing viable concepts through the commercialization pathway to the marketplace. Through the I-Corps Site, with targeted training and mentoring, I-Corps teams are sourced from the Rutgers Site partners. These include the Office of Research Commercialization, educational activities ranging from the Collaboration for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (CTEC) and Professional Science Master's (PSM) programs, senior-year "capstone" engineering design and Honors College programs, and many other feeder programs. Mentors are matched to these teams. Inventors benefit from the larger innovation ecosystem in the New Jersey/New York region, as the Site partners with the NYCRIN I-Corps Node. The Rutgers I-Corps Site provides training, mentoring, and access to a large network of business, technical and financial resources. The signature activity of this program is that each year, 30 teams participate and test the commercial potential of their products with a broad base of consumers. This program promotes the value of commercialization to both faculty and students, and reinforces the concept that ideas generated by the academic research process can have societal and commercial value.The Rutgers I-Corps bridges the gap between the lab and the marketplace, enhancing the University's commitment to fostering economic development across New Jersey and beyond. As the number of spin-outs from the university increases, jobs are created and companies hire students as interns and graduates as full-time employees. The program's impact goes beyond the University by tapping into local business leaders and entrepreneurs for team mentorship as well as expanding programs to support the communities around Rutgers campuses and to particularly assist underrepresented inventors and business-owners. A key area of focus is to increase I-Corps participation from women in STEM and ultimately to increase the number of women-owned businesses in the region/state.