Programs

MIN-Corps offers many options to explore innovation commercialization.  Scroll down past the calendar or click on any of the following:  Lean LaunchPad 101- Innovation Commercialization Bootcamps - Value Proposition Design Workshops - STARTUP - Emerging Opportunities Forums - Strategy Clinics - Women Innovators Conference 

NSF I-Corps: From Lab to Impact

This two-hour seminar introduces the Lean Launchpad methodology that was developed at Stanford to translate university innovations into successful licensed products and ventures and has been adopted as “I-Corps” by NSF, NIH, and other federal agencies. Includes an overview of MIN-Corps programs, as well as University of Minnesota commercialization resources.  Check back for Spring 2019 programs.

Innovation Commercialization Bootcamps

A one-day overview of commercialization principles and strategies. Topics include:  Identifying Commercializable Technologies, Intellectual Property & Tech Transfer, Product-Market Fit Intro, Market Assessment Intro, Commercialization Milestones, Inventor Roles in Commercialization, Commercialization Resources. Check back for Spring 2019 programs.

Value Proposition Design Workshops

Four hands-on sessions:  product-market fit, customer discovery, pathway to commercialization, market assessment. NSF-funded grants (up to $3,000) available for customer research. Successful completion can lead to nomination to the I-Corps National Teams program, which includes a $50,000 grant. These workshops are designed for participants interested in exploring the commercialization potential of specific innovations. Click on each workshop title for registration information.

StartUp: Customer Development and Testing

STARTUP: Customer Development & Testing (MGMT 5102) is an experiential 2-credit course for UMN undergrad and grad students interested in pursuing their own entrepreneurial ventures.  Students apply lean launchpad methods to test their value proposition and receive recurring feedback from instructors and mentors. Participating students are eligible to receive seed capital grants up to $3,000 to fund prototype development and customer discovery.

Apply for the Spring 2019 semester here.

Strategy Clinics

Monthly dinners where current and future science and tech entrepreneurs share a meal, hear from experts, share their challenges, and seek advice. Click below to register:

Emerging Opportunities Forums

2018 Fall Sessions

All  sessions take place at the Carlson School of Management - click on registration links below for details.

4:00pm-5:30pm, Oct 2nd: Securing Your Intellectual Property

5:30pm-7:30pm, Oct 30th: Briding the Valley of Death: From Research Lab to Medical Impact

4:00pm-5:30pm, Nov 27th: Early Stage Startup Funding

4:00pm-5:30pm, Dec 11th: MIN-Corps Projects Showcase

Minnesota Innovation Corps Fellows

The University of Minnesota has scientists, engineers and medical practitioners who engage in breakthrough research and are strongly motivated to bring their breakthrough innovations to market, but lack business expertise.  The Carlson School of Management has business-savvy MBA and MS students who want meaningful entrepreneurial experiences.  Combining these talents and skills can help bring more inventions out of the lab to the market. 

The MIN-Corps Fellows program will start with SciPitch, when innovators will pitch their business concepts to a crowd of Carlson MBA and MS students curious about becoming MIN-Corps Fellows.  Each pitch will describe the technology, its commercial potential and the business issues that concern the innovator.  Carlson students will then circulate to meet the innovators and discuss how their business skills could add value.  Business teams will be formed around each innovator.

SciPitch will take place on Nov 6th at 4:30 pm at the Carlson School Management at the University of Minnesota.  Register here.

Women Innovators Conference

The annual Women Innovators Conference is a professional development summit designed to help female innovators connect the dots between their ideas and achieving a positive, significant impact. This event will inspire, inform and connect women graduate students, faculty and business professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) to strengthen and extend the diverse talent pool of women innovators in the Twin Cities.

Our next conference will take place in November 2019.  Learn more about the most recent conference at mincorps.umn.edu/women-innovators-conference.