Seminars and Workshops
Short sessions to learn about what it takes to commercialize inventions and/or launch technology/science-driven ventures. Click on the dates for registration info.
Pathways to Impact Graduate Student Seminars
Pathways to Impact was designed to help researchers adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, and think about impact beyond the laboratory.
Value Proposition Design
Participants apply the Lean LaunchPad methodology to learn how to translate their science and technology innovations to real-life products and services. Five modules: intro, product-market fit, customer discovery, pathway to commercialization, and market assessment.
- Science and Engineering VPD - a compressed, localized version of the regional Jumpstart course. For academics exploring the commercial potential of specific innovations emerging from their research. Entails outreach for stakeholder interviews. Successful completion can qualify academic teams for the NSF I-Corps Teams program ($50,000 grant).
- Launch MN VPD Certificate Course - for business people across the State of Minnesota taking the early steps to build fundable, high-growth businesses based on specific innovations. Provides the groundwork for an SBIR or Launch MN grant application, as well as investor due diligence.
- VPD Webinar - for business people and academics seeking an overview of the Lean LaunchPad approach; no specific innovation or homework is required.
Women Innovators Conference
The annual Women Innovators Conference is a professional development summit designed to help women innovators connect the dots between their ideas and achieving a positive, significant impact. This digital event will inspire, inform, and connect women 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. The next Women Innovators Conference will take place November 14, 2023.
Lunch-and-Learns
Tailored and targeted lunch-time sessions on science/technology innovation commercialization and entrepreneurship for academic departments, student clubs, affinity groups, research centers and professional development programs.
To request a customized program for your group, contact Ashley Mahoney at [email protected]
Inclusive Innovators Summit
The Inclusive Innovators Summit will bring together under-represented Midwest graduate students, postdocs, and faculty with academic and entrepreneurial leaders to build insights and solutions for inclusive engagement in research commercialization and science entrepreneurship.
The Inclusive Innovators Summit's objectives include:
Exposing early-career innovators to commercialization concepts and expert resources
Sharing best practices in attracting, retaining, and supporting under-represented innovators
Building community among academics interested in translation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship
Creating connections between diverse academic innovators and the entrepreneurial ecosystem
Sci Pitch
University researchers want to bring their breakthrough innovations to market, but lack business expertise. Business-savvy grad students at the Carlson School of Management are seeking meaningful entrepreneurial experiences. Let's combine these talents to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact. MBA/MS Carlson grad students hear pitches from University Minnesota scientists each November, then work to advance the business side of scientific innovations during the spring semester.
StartUp: Customer Development and Testing
This 2-credit course uses the Lean LaunchPad structured process to learn the initial process of customer development by testing market acceptance of a specific new business concept. Students (both undergrad and graduate level) from across the University of Minnesota are welcome to enroll as long as they have a specific idea or technology that they are interested in pursuing. The goal of the course is to teach the process to quickly and efficiently test the value and market fit for a new concept. This in-person class meets each fall and spring on Tuesday afternoons at 3:45.
Jumpstart:Technology Commercialization
The Great Lakes I-Corps Hub Jumpstart Technology Commercialization online workshops help researchers explore the commercial viability of STEM-based innovation ideas. Each course includes 5 biweekly sessions: Course Orientation, Product-Market Fit, Customer Discovery, Market Assessment, Commercialization Pathway. In between the formal course sessions, participants conduct 20-30 customer discovery interviews, complete online learning assignments, apply the tools to their own tech, and receive feedback and coaching from experienced instructors/mentors. Successful completion of a Jumpstart course can qualtify academic teams for nomination to the NSF I-Corps Teams program, which includes a $50,000 grant.