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

该项目在南佛罗里达大学（USF）建立了一个I-Corps站点。美国国家科学基金会创新队（I-Corps）站点是由美国国家科学基金会资助的实体，建立在大学里，其目的是培养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化为市场或成为I-Corps团队的申请人。II-Corps站点还加强地方和区域创新，并为导师、研究人员、企业家和投资者组成的国家创新网络做出贡献。南佛罗里达大学的网站将创业中心（CFE）的精益发射台培训流程制度化，并将其技术转移办公室（TTO）的流程转化为促进教师和学生将STEM研究转化为商业上可行的想法和原型。本网站采用主动流程招募教师和学生，例如：参观教室，顶点设计课程，校园研究项目，本科和研究生研究展示，与STEM相关研究资助的教师进行个人联系，以及发明披露。TTO还通过利用当前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国家科学基金会资金的资源。来自CFE的教师，代表商学院、工程学院、医学院和可持续发展学院，提供为期一周的强化训练营形式的NSF培训项目。在原型阶段之外，USF CONNECT是USF的商业部门，也是坦帕湾创新生态系统的中心，在整个商业生命周期中为I-Corps团队提供支持，为业务发展提供设施、合作伙伴和资源，并获得技术、劳动力计划、技术商业化、关键研究设备和孵化器设施。I-Corps项目通过解决USF创新生态在创建原型和增强设计方面的关键差距，产生了制度性影响。有了I-Corps基地，增加STEM技术转移的潜力很大，为坦帕湾不断增长的创新生态系统提供了支持，并有助于通过高科技创业公司改变该地区。南佛罗里达大学是坦帕湾地区的经济支柱，也是佛罗里达高科技走廊的节点，该走廊横跨佛罗里达23个县。该州的大多数医疗设备制造、国防、航空航天、信息技术和生命科学公司都位于该地区。南佛罗里达大学多样化的学生群体也是I-Corps Sites项目的目标。NSF/USF支持博士桥梁和斯隆少数民族博士课程，使USF成为少数民族（非洲裔美国人/黑人，西班牙裔/拉丁裔）工程博士学位的前10名生产者。I-Corps网站还在退伍军人学生中培养创新精神，因为有2100多名退伍军人及其家属在USF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.