NSF I-Corps
PRIOR NSF FUNDING IS NOT REQUIRED
The NSF I-Corps creates opportunities for members of the Drexel research community to gain insight into industry’s unmet needs and innovation challenges which can be incorporated into current and future research. It also supports postdocs and graduate students to explore commercialization and startups.
According to the NSF Director Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, I-Corps is “the foundation for an innovation ecosystem that brings together scientists and entrepreneurs, engineers and business leaders, and industry partners with cutting-edge researchers”. Since its inception in Fiscal Year 2012, more than 1,000 participating teams have launched startups which have cumulatively raised $760 million in subsequent funding.
Given my innovation, who (outside of academia) might care about it the most, why and by how much?
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"Regionals"
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"Nationals" or NSF I-Corps Teams
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Commitment
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Medium - Ten hours a week for four weeks
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Extensive - 20+ hours per week for seven weeks
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Team
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Must be a team of 3: Entrepreneurial Lead, Technical Lead and Industry Mentor
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Funding
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$3,000 per team
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$50,000 per team
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Benefits
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Explore the tools and the framework to answer the question "given my innovation, who cares about it the most, why and by how much"
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Develop extensive industry connections and explore what commercialization could look like, including startups
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Get a competitive edge for your NSF Partnership for Innovation ($250,000 for 18-24 months or $550,000 for 36 months)
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Successful teams earn nominations for the NSF I-Corps Teams (see below)
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Boost your chances of NSF SBIR Phase I award (up to $275,000) by more than 7x
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