NSF I-Corps Hub (Track 1): New England Region

This I-Corps Hub develops a New England regional innovation ecosystem to provide training to scientists and engineers that supports the translation of critical emerging technologies. The Hub is a consortium of universities spanning the New England region, and many of these researchers are located in rural areas lacking access to the resources found in a robust innovation ecosystem. The Hub aims to elevate this region by connecting I-Corps participants with curated resources and mentoring to enhance place-based innovation across New England. The Hub strives to ensure the participation of all Americans to have a positive impact on local economies, generate good-paying jobs, revitalize manufacturing, and accelerate new industries. In addition, the Hub will proactively recruit participants from institutions that are not Hub partners. I-Corps training will form the foundation to grow an entrepreneurially-minded, professional Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce and develop new products and services to benefit society and increase regional and U.S. competitiveness. This I-Corps Hub project is based on the development of a regional network that provides Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) researchers throughout New England with I-Corps entrepreneurial training, mentoring, and support. The goal is to promote and accelerate the translation of fundamental research to products and services that improve societal well-being and drive economic growth. While participants from all STEM disciplines will be recruited, emphasis will be on those benefitting local communities, such as BlueTech, Forestry, Sustainability, and Biotech/Life Sciences. The Hub will deliver I-Corps training on a large-scale and high frequency to researchers throughout the region via both online and in-person courses reaching higher education colleges and universities. This training will be accomplished by co-teaching using a regional instructor pool from all partner institutions with continual skills development. In addition, the number of researchers participating in I-Corps is expected to grow, generating significant new deep tech ventures while increasing the odds of commercial success and societal impacts. Outreach will be a primary activity of the Hub to ensure that all researchers in New England have the opportunity to participate in I-Corps and benefit from this training. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.