NSF selects UMaine and partners for a new hub of innovation and entrepreneurship
The initiative intends to turn research into products, technologies and treatments.
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the University of Maine and its partner universities $15 million to create the New England Region Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Hub to accelerate the conversion of scientific discoveries into meaningful economic and societal advances.
As part of an effort to expand the NSF-led National Innovation Network, UMaine will collaborate with Brown University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of New Hampshire to form the regional I-Corps Hub. Led by MIT, the hub is eligible to receive up to $15 million over five years to advance sustainable entrepreneurship, workforce development and economic growth throughout New England.
“UMaine is proud to be a co-founder of the New England I-Corps Hub,” said John Volin, UMaine’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “As an R1 university, our faculty, staff and students are creating innovations that are transforming our heritage industries, addressing environmental sustainability, solving healthcare challenges and more. We will leverage these new resources to get those innovations to market.”
NSF created the I-Corps program to foster innovation and entrepreneurship by providing faculty, staff and students with the tools and guidance needed to identify the market opportunity for their research. UMaine was selected as a site for the I-Corps program in 2018. More than 60 teams have participated in the program.
“I-Corps has been a critical element of UMaine’s efforts to increase the commercialization of research in Maine,” said Renee Kelly, associate vice president for strategic partnerships, innovation, resources and engagement and director of the I-Corps initiative at UMaine. “As part of the hub, we will be able to scale our efforts to serve more researchers at UMaine and other Maine-based educational institutions, non-profit laboratories and companies, and connect them to a network of mentors and resources throughout New England,”
UMaine’s participation in the NSF I-Corps program will focus on entrepreneurial training for researchers in science and engineering. This will help them identify opportunities to convert their discoveries and innovations into new products, technologies and health care treatments that contribute to economic growth and a robust, diverse and inclusive innovation community across New England.
“The goal of the I-Corps program is to deploy experiential education to help researchers reduce the time necessary to translate promising ideas from laboratory benches to widespread implementation that in turn impacts economic growth regionally and nationally,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF’s assistant director for technology, innovation and partnerships. “Each regional NSF I-Corps Hub provides training essential in entrepreneurship and customer discovery, leading to new products, startups and jobs. In effect, we are investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs for our nation.”
The New England hub is one of 13 I-Corps partnerships in the U.S., which together form a nationwide network that enables collaboration between universities, researchers, entrepreneurs, local and regional communities and federal agencies. Since its creation in 2011, the NSF I-Corps program has supported over 3,600 teams in translating scientific and engineering breakthroughs into commercial ventures.
Contact: John Diamond, diamond@maine.edu