New Entrepreneurial Fellows program offers teaching buyout, discretionary funds
The new Entrepreneurial Fellows program looks to foster entrepreneurship in engineering faculty members through successful technology translation and mentorship. Up to three winners for the 2018-19 school year will receive $5,000 in discretionary funds to invest in a venture, a one-course teaching release to mature intellectual property, perform technology transfer, gain patents, and/or start a company.
After the fellowship, winners will transition to a mentorship role and will share their experiences with a broad audience. They will also work closely with the Technology Transfer Office as a mentor within the TTO Commercialization Network and a panel member or speaker with the Commercialization Academy.
Applications for the program are open through Oct. 15 to all tenured/tenure-track faculty in the College of Engineering and Applied Science from any department or major. Strong candidates should be actively pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors related to research translation.
A complete application includes a one-page proposal addressing goals and how the discretionary funds will be used, as well as a CV and letter of support from their department chair. Submissions and questions can be made to Associate Professor Mark Rentschler. Applications submitted after Oct. 15 will be considered on a rolling basis until Nov. 1. Applicants will be notified of their status by Nov. 9.
The program is sponsored by the Research & Innovation Office in partnership with the college. Rentschler said the program could be expanded throughout the campus if it is successful.
鈥淲e want to encourage faculty entrepreneurship and technology translation to scale our research impact,鈥 he said. 鈥淧art of this is building a larger ecosystem through the mentorship aspect which will establish a formal pathway to foster and promote this technology translation so that faculty can scale their societal impact.鈥