Office of Innovation and Economic Development and Foster Innovation Center program changes

The Office of Innovation and Economic Development has made the following changes to its programs and services in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

A note for our business partners: We are compiling a list of resources for Maine businesses affected by coronavirus (loan programs and more) on the OIED website.

The University of Maine COVID-19 Innovation Team is maintaining a list of resources for health care partners and community members that also is available on the OIED website.

I-Corps: UMaine’s next I-Corps cohort will begin July 23 and be conducted virtually. We are still taking applications from interested teams and will communicate with applicants about the program details.

Innovate for Maine: We have made the difficult decision to cancel Innovate for Maine in 2020. Many of our partner events, such as Startup Maine and the Top Gun Statewide Showcase, have been canceled or postponed, and we believe the personal connections made in our in-person boot camp, cohort-building activities, and networking events cannot be replicated effectively online. Please email um.ifm@maine.edu with questions or visit the Innovate for Maine website for more information.

Innovation Engineering online workshops: The Foster Center for Innovation is partnering with the Graduate & Professional Center for a series of three webinars on innovation engineering this spring. Information on upcoming dates is available online.

MIRTA: We are communicating regularly with participating teams and have transitioned regular coaching sessions to an online format. The program timeline has been extended.

Research to Real World Commercialization Training Series: All spring semester workshops in this series are now complete. Fall dates and topics will be posted online when available.

Student/community idea coaching: For the time being, we will conduct all idea coaching sessions for student and community entrepreneurs virtually. To set up an online coaching appointment, please visit Calendly.

Top Gun Bangor class: We are communicating regularly with participants and have transitioned scheduled sessions to an online format. The regional and statewide showcase events that were originally scheduled for May have been postponed until September.

Please email um.oied@maine.edu with any questions about these changes. This information will be updated as circumstances require.