TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) on academic innovation and entrepreneurship
AU - Schultz, Ivy
AU - Blaho, John A.
AU - Becker, Kurt H.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of this work through NSF awards 305023 and 1740622. We thank Gillian Small, Vita Rabinowitz, and Chris Wiggins who, along with the authors, served as co-PIs of these awards. We thank Richard Sheinaus and Jessica Fields for expert technical assistance in finalizing the images shown in the ecosystem figures. Other individuals who played a significant role at CUNY in the development and execution of the NYCRIN program include, Arber Ruci, Nhi Tran, Cira Cardaci. Camilo Florez, Fani Maksakuli, Eedresha Sturdivant, Faith Jaskowiak, Andrea Retzky, Howard Lieberman, Myriam Caratu, Christina Pellicane, Philip Loew, Christine Mooney, Anelisa Lauri, and Rene Baston, and the following innovation interns and fellows: Gargi Padki, Alina Shen, Amali Nassereddine, Jasmine Boone, Anna Litovskaya, Eric Bravo, Ryan Livote, Sivakumar Kalyanaraman, Astrid Sylvester, Kyle O'Brien, Bethold (Kobe) Owusu, Kelvin Zheng, Courtney Ogando, Aisha Ali, Shateesh Bhugwansing, Tina Ezratty, Jonathan Glasgow, Aissatou Bah, and Lihong Liang. At NYU, we acknowledge the contributions of Frank Rimalovski, Lindsay Marshall and the entire team of the Leslie eLab, Micah Kotch, Emily Wheeler, the NYU Tandon Future Lab team, especially Steve Kuyan, Craig Wilson, Mina Salib, James Hendon, and Pat Sapinsley, Maria Grillo, Katepalli Sreenivasan, Jin Montclare, and David Lefer. At Columbia, we acknowledge the contributions of John Kymissis, Dario Vasquez, Sharon Liu, Jim Aloise, and the entire Columbia Engineering Entrepreneurship team.
Funding Information:
A few years later, the I-Corps program was also introduced at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) [] and the Department of Energy (DOE) and was expanded to seek the commercialization of research breakthroughs supported by these two funding agencies. NYCRIN leaders played significant roles in the creation and delivery of I-Corps at NIH []. In parallel, NYCRIN offered regional I-Corps programs to teams associated with the universities in its network seeking to commercialize IP that was not based on NSF-funded research.
Funding Information:
In the following years, two programs preceding the Summer Launchpad were conceived in an effort to better prepare the teams entering the Summer Launchpad. This resulted in a 3-level Start-up Accelerator Series that provides sequenced skills-development and support to advance NYU start-up teams to the next level based on evidence-based insight and mentorship. The Series begins with customer discovery in the Start-up Boot Camp, continues with a fast Start-up Sprint, and culminates in the Summer Launchpad. Start-up Boot Camps are two half-day workshops with a week of customer discovery interviews in between for teams who have shown commitment to moving their ideas forward and who have been working on their idea-stage venture for a few months before applying. Accepted teams are taught how to test the value of their ideas and validate (or invalidate) the problem they are solving for their target customer. In the process, teams will refine their technology and may pivot on the road to a more successful start-up based on customer feedback. Start-up Sprints are two-week programs supporting aspiring NYU entrepreneur teams to transform their ideas and inventions into businesses by challenging them to deepen the understanding of their customer base in order to develop successful solutions which meet their needs, i.e. sharpen the "problem–solution fit". Start-up coaches guide the teams through skills-building workshops and approached to grant funding and peer support .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Abstract: In 2011, the U.S. National Science Foundation created the Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program in an effort to explore ways to translate the results of the academic research the agency has funded into new products, processes, devices, or services and move them to the marketplace. The agency established a 3-tier structure to support the implementation of the I-Corps concept. Selected I-Corps teams consisting of the principal investigator, an entrepreneurial lead, and an industry mentor participate in a 7-week accelerated version of the Lean Launchpad methodology that was first developed by Steve Blank at Stanford University. Participating teams engage in talking to potential customers, partners, and competitors and address the challenges and the uncertainty of creating successful ventures. I-Corps sites were set up to promote selected aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems at the grantee institutions. I-Corps Regional Nodes were charged with recruiting I-Corps teams in a larger geographical area as well as stimulating a new culture of academic entrepreneurship in the institutions in their area of influence. This Topical Review describes the experiences and the impact of the New York City Regional Innovation Node, which is led by the City University of New York, in partnership with New York University and Columbia University.
AB - Abstract: In 2011, the U.S. National Science Foundation created the Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program in an effort to explore ways to translate the results of the academic research the agency has funded into new products, processes, devices, or services and move them to the marketplace. The agency established a 3-tier structure to support the implementation of the I-Corps concept. Selected I-Corps teams consisting of the principal investigator, an entrepreneurial lead, and an industry mentor participate in a 7-week accelerated version of the Lean Launchpad methodology that was first developed by Steve Blank at Stanford University. Participating teams engage in talking to potential customers, partners, and competitors and address the challenges and the uncertainty of creating successful ventures. I-Corps sites were set up to promote selected aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems at the grantee institutions. I-Corps Regional Nodes were charged with recruiting I-Corps teams in a larger geographical area as well as stimulating a new culture of academic entrepreneurship in the institutions in their area of influence. This Topical Review describes the experiences and the impact of the New York City Regional Innovation Node, which is led by the City University of New York, in partnership with New York University and Columbia University.
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U2 - 10.1140/epjd/s10053-022-00562-9
DO - 10.1140/epjd/s10053-022-00562-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85143202840
SN - 1434-6060
VL - 76
JO - European Physical Journal D
JF - European Physical Journal D
IS - 12
M1 - 232
ER -