Applications Due for NSF Interior Northeast Cohort

Pitt Ventures First Gear is an NSF I-Corps innovation commercialization training program that helps shape innovations originating from Pitt research into products and services that can be taken to market to make an impact on people’s lives. Through a series of six workshops, the program offers hands-on guidance and mentorship that takes an inventor through the necessary steps ito evaluate a technology’s commercial potential by finding and talking to potential customers to identify their problems and unmet needs.

As a member of the NSF Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub, Pitt innovators have access to I-Corps training, both through Pitt, and the other 9 Hub universities. The Hub offers more than 20 innovation commercialization courses throughout the year in both virtual and hybrid formats.

Participants:

1. Evaluate an innovation’s commercialization potential.
2. Find and talk to 30 potential customers and industry stakeholders.
3. Develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
4. Strengthen applications for SBIR Grants
5. Earn a recommendation (lineage) for the national I Corps Teams program.