I-Corps Sites: UNLV Lean Entrepreneurship Advancement Program

University Of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas NV

Investigators

Abstract

This project, from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), creates an Innovation Corps Site (I-Corps Site). 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. UNLV establishes the Lean Entrepreneurship Advancement Program (LEAP) to broaden commercialization of faculty, student and community innovations. Utilizing the existing resources and expertise of the UNLV Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), the Division of Research and Economic Development, the Mendenhall Innovation Program (MIP) and the Nevada Small Business Development center (NSBDC), this NSF I-Corps Site grant helps identify faculty and student innovations suitable for transition into the marketplace. The LEAP increases the pipeline of innovations by identifying and supporting faculty and students associated with colleges and Institutes across the university (e.g., Sciences, Dental School, Nursing, Hospitality, the Institute of Personalized Medicine, and others). It also provides commercialization opportunities for students participating in the recently implemented Lean Startup Las Vegas program. This program, partially funded by a VentureWell Programs Grant, is designed to aid the development of software based businesses, making them ideal candidates for funding that supports prototype refinement and/or customer development. The implementation of an I-Corps Site program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas provides a model of innovation that can be adopted by other institutions that enjoy similar, highly diverse populations. The LEAP enables the participation of colleges such as the College of Hotel Administration, the College of Sciences, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the Institute of Personalized Medicine, and others, in a shared entrepreneurial experience that may lead to startups that impact this institution's geographic ecosystem.