Type I: An NSF ICORP Site Program for Northeastern University

这个项目在东北大学创建了一个NSF 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。I-Corps站点还加强地方和区域创新，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。该网站利用了东北大学的创业生态系统以及更大的波士顿创新生态系统。该计划的基础是不断增长的资助研究机构，为商业化提供了尚未开发的机会。为了促进创业，东北大学为本科生和研究生开设了一系列创业课程，并为当地投资界提供了一个校园孵化器。东北I-Corps网站项目大大提高了通过其网站建立的stem相关企业的数量和质量。I-Corps Site项目还利用东北大学的技术许可办公室及其导师和投资者网络来支持Site团队。有280名活跃的个人导师支持东北大学的创业公司，还有各种各样的天使和风险资本投资者定期评估东北大学的创业公司，其中50家在过去三年中获得了7000万美元的风险融资。东北大学的创业体系是基于教育、孵化和启动的元过程。I-Corp Site项目是一种高度集中的方式，a)更好地招募特定的研究生、博士后和潜在的技术企业家教师群体，b)为他们提供初步的创业和创新教育和培训。东北大学还在自己的孵化器中开展研究，以更清楚地了解创业学习对首次创业者的影响，重点关注发展客户洞察力、新产品和服务解决方案以及商业模式等具体领域。几家I-Corp合资企业已经成为这项研究的一部分。东北大学的目标是增加实验室中出现的技术风险的数量和质量，并为I-Corps国家项目提供新的风险。另一个重要的影响是，I-Corps为早期企业通过I-Corps节点和SBIR/STTR项目寻求初始资金提供了补充途径。另一个潜在的影响是，在接下来的几年里，这个项目将扩展到东北校区一英里内众多研究环境中的早期企业家。这些机构包括哈佛大学、塔夫茨大学和波士顿大学附属的医学院和医院，以及从事机器人、网络安全和物联网等STEM领域研究的组织。

This project creates an NSF I-Corps Site at Northeastern University.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.This Site leverages Northeastern's entrepreneurship ecosystem as well as that of the larger Boston innovation ecosystem. The foundation for the program is a growing body of funded research which offers untapped opportunities for commercialization. To facilitate entrepreneurship, Northeastern created a series of entrepreneurship courses for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as an on-campus incubator feeding ventures into the local investment community.The Northeastern I-Corps Site program substantially increases both the quantity and quality of STEM-related ventures founded through its Site. The I-Corps Site program also leverage Northeastern's technology licensing office as well as its Mentor and Investors Networks in support of Site teams. There are 280 active individual Mentors supporting Northeastern's startups, as well as a variety of angel and venture capital investors who regularly assess Northeastern ventures, fifty of which have garnered $70 million in venture finance over the past three years. Northeastern University's entrepreneurship system is based on the meta-process of Educate, Incubate, and Launch. The I-Corp Site program is a highly focused way to a) better recruit a specific graduate, postdoc, and faculty population of potential technological entrepreneurs, and b) provide initial entrepreneurship and innovation education and training for them. Northeastern is also conducting research to more clearly understand the effect of entrepreneurial learning for first time entrepreneurs in its own incubator, focusing on the specific areas of developing customer insight, new product and service solutions, and business models. Several I-Corp ventures are already part of this study.Northeastern's Site goals are to increase the number and quality of technology ventures emerging from laboratories and to feed new ventures into the I-Corps National program. Another important impact is that I-Corps offers a complementary pathway for early stage ventures to pursue initial funding through I-Corps Node and SBIR/STTR programs. Another potential impact is the expansion of this program in subsequent years to early stage entrepreneurs working in the numerous research environments within one mile of the Northeastern campus. These institutions include the medical schools and hospitals affiliated with Harvard, Tufts, and Boston University, as well as organizations pursuing research in robotics, cybersecurity, and IoT among other STEM areas.