"The class helped us organize our thoughts, come up with hypotheses, and go out there and test the waters. Even though we are at a very [early] stage of commercialization, we have a much clearer vision of where we need to go next."
Are you an innovator driven by passion for discovery and impact?
At MIN-Corps, we empower you to take your academic research beyond the lab and into the market. Our program offers unparalleled access to market research, equity funding, industry mentorship, and more. By connecting you with a network of experienced professionals and resources, we help transform your intellectual property into viable products and enterprise.
Since 2014, thousands of participants from 22 colleges within University of Minnesota and across the business community have participated in hundreds MIN-Corps academic courses, commercialization bootcamps, value proposition design workshops, seminars and events. The 500+ innovation teams (including 46 startups) have generated over $52 million in commercialization grants and investment funding. In addition, MIN-Corps has successfully nominated 35 teams to the national NSF I-Corps Teams program, with each team receiving a grant up to $50,000 to engage in intense customer discovery and business model design. For more information about the University of Minnesota's participants in NSF I-Corps Teams cohorts, click here.
Participating in a NSF national I-Corps Teams cohort is seven intense weeks of exhaustion, exhilaration and "ah-ha" moments. The program includes a $50,000 grant to cover grad student/postdoc stipends as well as customer discovery costs. Each participating team emerges with a robust set of customer discovery and technology commercialization skills, as well as an assessment of their innovation's market potential and business model.
What does it take to qualify for I-Corps Teams?
"The class helped us organize our thoughts, come up with hypotheses, and go out there and test the waters. Even though we are at a very [early] stage of commercialization, we have a much clearer vision of where we need to go next."
"I found all the concepts to be incredibly valuable. I wish I would have been more familiar with this approach years ago. This has, and will continue to, shape the way I do work."
"I thought the class time to together with [the instructors’] leadership as well as the sharing of experiences was a great learning experience. The course materials and out-of-class activities were a great foundation."
"The MIN-CORPS class helped us organize our thoughts, come up with hypotheses, and go out there and test the waters. Even though we are at a very [early] stage of commercialization, we have a much clearer vision of where we need to go next."
MIN-Corps is proud to support student innovators through the MVP Challenge.
MVP or “Minimum Viable Product” is a tool to show customers and key stakeholders how your innovative idea could work, capture feedback, and bring your concept one step closer to reality.
Each year, the MVP Challenge awards up to 30 grants from $100 to $5,000 in three divisions: Physical, Social, and Digital.
2024 MVP Winners:
Best overall winner: Omega Bugs, Nathan Feltman
Social division winner: School Support for Deployed and Relocated Veterans, Logan Grayson
Digital division winner: Vertex 360, Mo Hicks
Physical division winner: Live On Minnesota, Erik Halaas
Overall crowd favorite: Canopy, Aditya Prabhu, Lucas Payne, and Chase Anderson