I-Corps Sites: The Penn I-Corps Site - Integrating Company Formation and Experiential Education

智力优势：这是宾夕法尼亚大学提出的在其商业化中心--宾夕法尼亚创新中心(PCI)建立创新团队(i-Corps)网站的提案。宾夕法尼亚州立大学I-Corps网站将通过提供教育规划、财务支持和战略指导，支持将STEM领域的研究转化为市场，方法是为Site E-Team提供访问PCI商业化项目和新的创业课程的机会，以及沃顿小企业发展中心的指导。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。一个典型的i-Corps站点的资金约为每年10万美元，最长可达三年。网站资金被学术机构用来催化团队(金额从1,000美元到3,000美元不等)，这些团队的技术概念可能是商业化的候选者。工地团队的组成模仿i-Corps团队的组成，工地的教育分享i-Corps课程的原则。在网站的支持和指导下，团队将第一手学习创业知识，并探索将他们的想法、设备、流程或其他智力活动转化为市场。i-Corps网站还加强当地和地区的创新，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。宾夕法尼亚大学的网站将采用一个结构化的流程，遵循精益启动板的方法进行商业模式验证。在宾夕法尼亚州立大学STEM研究产生的技术背景下，该网站的目标是将PCI·S创业服务扩展到涉及教职员工和学生的团队，提供亲身体验创业教育，并加速宾夕法尼亚州立大学的创业创建。该项目将为宾夕法尼亚大学S的STEM教育创业活动提供一条商业化道路，为STEM的教师/学生团队扩大PCI？S公司的组建，并在PCI？S教育项目中增加创业成分。更广泛的影响：PCI-ICS的直接结果将是对90多名教职员工和学生进行客户发现方法(Blank，2012)实践培训，创建适合向合作伙伴和投资者展示的商业计划和推介，创建新的初创企业，并在适当情况下授权源自宾夕法尼亚大学研究的技术。最终目标是帮助研究向商业化过渡，同时通过促进实践经验方法来发展创业想法，将教育和传统技术转让活动整合在一起。这将通过建立一个框架来实现，该框架充当教育课程和pci？S公司组建计划之间的桥梁。PCI网站将帮助培养接受过创业精神基本方面培训的教职员工和学生。与沃顿-SBDC的合作将产生双重影响，既为STEM企业家提供商业指导，又让商科学生接触STEM研究领域。通过将宾夕法尼亚州新兴企业家与由企业家、投资者和顾问组成的PCIo S网络以及宾夕法尼亚州东南部富兰克林技术合作伙伴经济发展机构和费城市长联系起来，宾夕法尼亚州i-Corps网站可能会对该地区动态创业生态系统的发展做出重要贡献。

Intellectual Merit:This is a proposal from the University of Pennsylvania to establish an Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Site at its commercialization hub, the Penn Center for Innovation (PCI). The Penn I-Corps Site will support translation of research from STEM areas into the marketplace by providing educational programming, financial support and strategic guidance through offering Site E-teams access to commercialization programs at PCI and a new entrepreneurial curriculum, as well as guidance by the Wharton Small Business Development Center. 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. A typical I-Corps Site is funded for approximately $100,000 per year for up to three years. The Site funding is used to by academic institutions to catalyze teams (with amounts ranging from $1,000 to $3,000) whose technology concepts are likely candidates for commercialization. The make-up of teams at the Sites is modeled after the composition of I-Corps Teams, and education at the Sites shares the principles of the I-Corps Curriculum. With the support and mentorship of the Sites, the teams will learn first-hand about entrepreneurship and explore the transition of their ideas, devices, processes or other intellectual activities into the marketplace.I-Corps Sites also strengthen innovation locally and regionally and contribute to the National Innovation Network of mentors, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors. The Penn Site will employ a structured process for business model validation following the Lean Launchpad methodology. Within the context of technologies arising from STEM research at Penn, the goals of the Site are to expand PCI?s start-up creation services to teams involving faculty and students, provide hands-on experiential entrepreneurial education, and accelerate startup-creation at Penn. This project will provide a commercialization path for Penn?s educational entrepreneurial activities in STEM by expanding PCI?s company formation for faculty/student teams in STEM and by adding an entrepreneurial component to PCI?s educational programs. Broader Impacts:A direct result of the PCI-ICS will be hands-on training in the Customer Discover Methodology (Blank, 2012) of 90+ faculty and students, creation of business plans and pitches suitable to present to partners and investors, the creation of new start-ups and, when appropriate, licensing of technologies originating from Penn research. The ultimate goal is to help transition of research to commercialization, while integrating education and traditional technology transfer activities by promoting a hands-on experiential approach to development of startup ideas. This will be accomplished by establishing a framework that acts as a bridge between educational coursework and PCI?s company formation programs. The PCI Site will help spawn faculty and students trained in fundamental aspects of entrepreneurism. A collaboration with the Wharton-SBDC will have the dual impact of providing business guidance to entrepreneurs in STEM and exposing business students to STEM areas of research. By connecting Penn nascent entrepreneurs with the PCI?s network of entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors as well as with the Ben Franklin Technology Partners Southeastern Pennsylvania Economic Development Agency and the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, the Penn I-Corps site may be an important contributor to the development of dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region.