I-Corps Sites: Type II - I-Corps Site at University of South Florida Tampa

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project, from the University of South Florida (USF), continues their activities to strengthen Innovation and entrepreneurship within the university and region through their I-Corps Site. 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. This is a Type II I-Corps Site - Type II projects reside at institutions that have already received a Type I award. I-Corps Sites also strengthen innovation locally and regionally and contribute to the National Innovation Network of mentors, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors. This project integrates efforts from the USF Research and Innovation's Vice President for Research (VPR) Office with participants from engineering, business, and medicine, and support from their patent and licensing office. This I-Corps Site reaches across the campus and filled a crucial gap by providing hands-on entrepreneurial training to scientists and engineers about how to think about translating an idea to actual use by society. This Site at USF accomplished a great deal during their first three years and "changed the culture" of the institution - 115 teams completed the Site curriculum, 42 teams completed their boot-camp, and they sent 25 teams to the National I-Corps program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.