Spartan Innovations Venture Fellows
SUMMARY
The Venture Fellows program assists in launching startup companies based on inventions by MSU faculty, staff and graduate students and to provide graduate students experience in technology commercialization. The program runs from September through the end of April. Fellows will have a direct impact on scaling MSU technology for commercialization and have access to top-ranked faculty as well as industry experts. Fellows are grouped in teams of three – a business student and two STEM/STEAM students – who are responsible for developing and executing a plan for moving the technology towards commercialization.
The projects will be selected from the pipeline of MSU technologies currently being commercialized. While there is a general alignment of people to projects based on their area of study, the technical background of the Fellows has little relevance since the focus is on commercial development. Therefore, graduate students from a range of disciplines and experience levels are encouraged to apply. Past projects have included development of a roadside testing device for THC, commercialization of a repurposed drug for the treatment of tuberculosis and product/market definition of a wearable device for measuring human interaction.
REQUIREMENTS
- Graduates to have completed their course work for their PhD and at least one year from completing their dissertation (Please note: Qualifying PhD students must obtain permission from their thesis advisor to participate)
- Preference for students in life sciences, physical sciences, computer science and communications
- Commitment of 8 to 10 hours a week
- Weekly team progress meetings with the Program Director
- Monthly group meeting
BENEFITS
- Paid a fellowship of $6,500 in addition to existing support;
- Unparalleled experience with an experienced team of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists
APPLICATION AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Applications for the 2019/20 Venture Fellows program will be accepted until July 31, 2019. For more information and to make an application go to:
https://www.spartaninnovations.org/students/grad-students-venture-fellows
If you have questions regarding the program, please contact the program director: John L. McIntyre, PhD, Director Venture Fellows, Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Spartan Innovations.
C. 616-889-9611
