Are you interested in taking your innovative idea, technology, or process commercial?
Michigan Tech is an affiliate with the Great Lakes Region NSF I-Corps Hub. Interested
parties may participate in events throughout the region or at Tech. Workshops will
be available each semester. Check out the NSF I-Corps Hub Great Lakes Region calendar for event opportunities.
Entrepreneurially minded graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff, alumni,
and local community teams are invited to join the next Great Lakes Region NSF I-Corps
Hub cohort. The site program offered through Michigan Tech is structured around the
lean startup teaching methods and principles used by NSF's National I-Corps Program. The purpose of the NSF-funded I-Corps Hub Program is to foster entrepreneurship
that will lead to the commercialization of technology and to develop team readiness
for the teams going on to the I-Corps National I-Corps program.
Michigan Tech and affiliate institution teams who complete the five-week workshop
and customer discovery process may be eligible to apply for the following opportunities:
- Mini-grant funding for continued customer discovery
- NSF's National I-Corps program which includes $50,000 in funding and additional training
Participation in the program can lead to qualification for research and other funding
from several granting agencies, including the NSF I-Corps and SBIR/STTR/PFI programs
and various state and regional programs. Past participants have reported that they
saved time and money by better understanding potential applications of their technology,
experienced improved engagement with teams, and improved their ability to receive
add-on funding.
Applications for Spring 2023 workshop are now open. Apply now
Michigan Tech I-Corps Site program workshops:
- 1/23/2023, 4:00 - 7:00 pm EST
- 1/30/2023, 4:00 - 6:00 pm EST
- 2/13/23, 4:00 - 6:00 pm EST
- 2/27/2023, 4:00 - 7:00 pm EST
Note: Participants are required to attend all workshops.
The I-Corps curriculum provides real-world, hands-on, immersive learning about what
it takes to successfully transfer knowledge into products and processes that benefit
society. It’s not about how to write a research paper, a business plan, or NSF proposal.
The end result is not a publication, a deck of slides, or even a scientific discovery.
Instead, the entire I-Corps team will be engaged in talking to industry customers
and competitors and encountering the chaos and uncertainty of creating successful
innovations. Getting out of the laboratory/university is what the effort is all about.
This curriculum requires full participation from the entire I-Corps team. Each member
must commit to in-depth preparation, attendance at the lectures, workshops, and WebEx
conference calls. If you cannot commit a minimum of 5 hours per week, the Michigan
Tech I-Corps Site program is not for you.
I-Corps is perfect for early-stage projects looking to assess a commercial opportunity.
This program works equally well for university researchers that are in the process
or have filed an invention disclosure, as well as SBIR/STTR Phase I awardees, or companies
looking to spin-out new technologies.
- An opportunity to see the real world impacts of your research and technology
- Discover a market for your technology that you had not previously considered
- Your network will exponentially as you have priceless contact with teachers, investors
customers and inventors
- Increased skills; you will learn the language of business and about the 9 fundamental
principles of a business model
- Ability to identify increased commercial potential for your technologies
- Increased probability of grant success
- Quicker elimination of non-commercial research tracks
- Increase your visibility within your institution
- You will save years and money by accelerating your understanding
- You will help contribute to an innovation ecosystem that will change the future of
the State of Michigan and the Midwest
Participants in the I-Corps Site Program will be expected to commit at least 3-5 hours
per person per week. During this time they will concentrate on:
- market research
- customer discovery
- other commercialization-focused activities
It is important participants are interested in gaining new knowledge from the program
and not just receiving the I-Corps Site grant funding. Once accepted, participants
will be required to attend the following:
- kick-off event
- two training sessions
- mentor meetings
- final Presentation Day
Participants will show how their business ideas have developed over the course of
the workshop at the final Presentation Day
Participants will also be expected to schedule at least two meetings with members
of the teaching team. You can schedule a half-hour slot with a specific teaching team
member by clicking on their Office Hours below.
Eligibility/Team Composition
All current undergraduate and graduate students, doctoral students, post-doctoral
researchers, alumni, administrative staff, and faculty are eligible to apply. It is
required that participants apply to this program as a team of at least two people.
We do not recommend that teams apply with more than four participants. Typically,
teams consist of:
- At least one scientific or technological expert who is responsible for the team's
idea ("the scientific leader")
- At least one student , alumni, or post-doctoral fellow interested in conducting entrepreneurial
research and directing group efforts ("the entrepreneurial leader"). The entrepreneurial
leader may or may not have prior business experience, but is committed to leading
or organizing team activities during the I-Corps Site Program.
Husky Innovate can help facilitate team formation in order to match people with different
experiences onto teams. For more information on team formation, please contact Lisa
Casper (lcasper@mtu.edu).
Mary Raber is the Director of the Global Leadership Program, and a Co-director of Husky Innovate.
Mary specializes in engineering education research, leadership development, program
management, and the process of product development. She is a teaching team member
and a faculty champion for the Stanford d.School University Innovation Fellows program
at Michigan Tech. She is the PI for the I-Corps Site Program.
Jim Baker is the Executive Director of Innovation and Commercialization, as well as the Co-director
of Husky Innovate. Jim has been the co-founder of a biotechnology company and a UP-based
manufacturing company as well as an adviser, director, or mentor of numerous startup
companies. Specializations include intellectual property, technology licensing, corporate
research, and start-up business development.
Jonathan Leinonen is a lecturer in the College of Business and also co-director of Husky Innovate.
Jon has worked with numerous innovation-based companies to launch products and raise
early stage capital. He specializes in agile resource provision toward strategic,
collaborative benefits through direct involvement across stakeholders including universities,
non-profits, government and private companies, leading various roles with them.
Lisa Casper earned her MBA from the University of Oregon. She completed her undergraduate BS
studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in Aeronautical Science
as well as earning flight instructor and commercial aviation certificated and her
multiengine and instrument ratings. She worked as a Systems Engineer supporting project
management for science and engineering projects at both Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space. Most recently she worked as an
Entrepreneurship Instructor and Advisor for students at Finlandia University.