CSUPERB: CSU I-Corps Call for Student Teams & Second Call for Faculty Teams

January 5, 2015

CSUPERB is pleased to issue the Call for Teams for the Fall 2015 CSU I-Corps™ Student Challenge. 

Teams must be formed before the Spring 2015 application deadline (Wednesday, April 15). More information and proposal templates can be found here: http://www.csuperb.org/csuicorps/fall-2015/.


The Fall 2015 CSU I-Corps™ call is for Student Teams.   Teams should form now, even though the program does not start until early fall.

Challenge teams start with a biotechnology research-based idea, interview potential customers and partners, and apply creative thought to find a problem-solution fit based on their idea. Teams attend webinars to learn about the customer discovery process, business model canvas concepts, business communications, legal and biotechnology regulatory issues. Webinars are taught by experienced life science entrepreneurs, industry professionals and faculty associated with the CSU I-Corps Biological Sciences Site.

To smooth the work of moving product concepts out of the lab, teams win CSU I-Corps™ microgrants ($2500).  Microgrants can be used to interview and work with industry mentors and advisors, to attend industry meetings to meet and interview potential customers, to fabricate prototypes, and/or to buy research materials and supplies for proof-of-concept work.

The Fall 2014 Student Teams will be presenting the outcomes of their work this fall at the 27th Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium (Jan. 8-10th). Curious students and faculty might be interested in attending the CSU I-Corps presentations later this week!

This message also serves as a Second Call for Teams for the Spring 2015 CSU I-Corps™ Cohort.

Teams must form before the Spring 2015 application deadline (Monday, February 16).  The Spring 2015 CSU I-Corps™ call is for Faculty-led Teams.

CSU I-Corps™ allows curious researchers and nascent entrepreneurs to get feedback from customers and advisors to better assess their biotechnology idea’s maturity, product-market fit, and follow-on funding strategies.  By completing the CSU I-Corps™ curriculum, PIs become eligible for funding via NSF's I-Corps Team program. To smooth the work of moving product concepts out of the lab, faculty PIs win CSU I-Corps™ microgrants ($2500).

You can find more information and proposal templates for the Spring 2015 Call for Teams here: http://www.csuperb.org/csuicorps/spring-2015/.

CSUPERB will be offering a proposal writing workshop at the 27th Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium (January 8th, 2015, at the Santa Clara Marriott) at which we can give in-person advice on CSU I-Corps™ applications.

Feel free to share this message with interested students and colleagues! Please contact me or call the program office (619-594-2822) for more information.

Dr. Susan Baxter

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