I-Corps Sites: Purdue's Innovation Pipeline

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit: This project creates an I-Corps Site at Purdue 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. The overall goal of this project is to expand Purdue's innovation ecosystem. This Site increases the number of successful commercialization projects by developing the commercialization and entrepreneurial skills of faculty, postdocs, and graduate students through the resources and infrastructure provided by Purdue's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship (BDMCE) and their Foundry program. These activities are supported through the involvement of key researchers and mentors who help create and support I-Corps teams in the areas of biomedical technology and engineering technologies. The objectives of Purdue?s Sites include: 1) Increase the level of customer development activity by I-Corps Site teams by providing support through the BDMCE's Foundry; 2) Develop the commercialization and entrepreneurial skills of graduate students in life sciences/health care, engineering technologies and management through the support of I-Corps Site teams in several domain-specific Lean LaunchPad courses; and 3) Build a better understanding of the characteristics, motivations, and needs of university-supported commercialization teams through assessment and evaluation Broader Impacts: By enabling over thirty teams a year to actively move through the Foundry's processes, the outcomes of this project will include the increase in both activity and knowledge that will mpact the innovation ecosystem at Purdue. In addition, this can lead to the rise in the quality and quantity of end products supported by the BDMCE. Faculty involved in the project will also increase their experience as mentors, researchers and innovators through their sustained involvement in this I-Corps project. By supporting entrepreneurial teams in several technology/market domains, Purdue may further their understanding and codification of the processes and activities that are appropriate to commercialize each technology -- and those that are not -- and contribute to the global body of knowledge about entrepreneurship. The project's assessment outputs, and the academic articles that they will enable, will help both Purdue and other universities better understand best practices for the support of student-led teams. Also, in line with their overall goal, the Purdue I-Corps Site will help ensure that more research benefits society.