Programs

Curious About Innovation

Discover how Pitt Innovation Programs offer opportunities to learn, connect, and explore with Pitt OIE to fuel your creativity, expand your network, and turn your ideas into impactful solutions.

• Idea to Impact – Coffee & Conversation. Idea to Impact – Coffee & Conversation is a free monthly drop-in where Pitt faculty, staff, postdocs, residents, fellows, and students talk through an idea, invention, or research result with OIE staff. It meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Registration is requested, and walk-ins are welcome. Coffee & Conversation is not a funding program or an application. Other OIE sessions are listed on the OIE events page.
• Community of Innovators. Pitt’s Community of Innovators supports University members at all stages of their innovation and commercialization journeys and provides mentorship, education, and resources to accelerate the translation of novel solutions addressing unmet health challenges.
• Inventor’s Guide. Review the comprehensive guide that provides essential steps and resources to help you transform your groundbreaking research into impactful products and services. From protecting your invention to finding the right commercialization path, this guide supports you at every stage.
• Commercialization Resources. Review key resources to gain critical insights into intellectual property and startup creation at your convenience. This flexible approach helps you enhance your entrepreneurial skills and make informed decisions to advance your innovations.

Have a Problem or Idea?

If you have a problem to solve or an idea to develop, Pitt OIE offers the resources and support you need to turn your vision into reality.

• Idea to Impact – Coffee & Conversation. Not sure where to start? Bring an early idea to Idea to Impact – Coffee & Conversation, a free drop-in with OIE staff on the second Tuesday of each month. No invention, patent, or pitch is needed.

• Pitt.INC Pitt.INC is an innovation funding program designed to generate proof-of-principle data for novel ideas with high commercial potential. With awards up to $50,000, the program supports projects from Pitt’s Schools of the Health Sciences addressing unmet needs or challenges in human health and disease.
• NSF Regional I-Corps Program. The NSF Regional I-Corps program is a one-month customer discovery course that helps Pitt inventors test the commercial potential of a technology by interviewing prospective customers. It was formerly called First Gear. Completing it is a prerequisite for applying to Pitt SPARK.
• Community of Innovators. Pitt’s Community of Innovators supports University members at all stages of their innovation and commercialization journeys and provides mentorship, education, and resources to accelerate the translation of novel solutions addressing unmet health challenges.
• Pitt Un-Challenged. The Pitt Un-Challenge funds new approaches to unmet needs in human health and disease. Phase 1 awards support validating the problem before a solution is designed. PUnCh is run by the Pitt Office of Multidisciplinary Innovation in the Health Sciences and the Pitt Clinical and Translational Science Institute, not by OIE.
• CREATES. CREATES is an innovation center in the Pitt School of Medicine that helps researchers identify and solve unmet healthcare needs, drawing on engineering, medicine, public health, and social work. Following the Stanford
  Biodesign approach, it offers guidance on user research, technology, and translation For more information, Pittsburgh CREATES or email mohit.singhala@pitt.edu.
• Pitt Engineering Commercialization Launchpad. A collaboration between OIE and the Swanson School of Engineering, this program offers primary-appointed SSOE faculty new to commercialization two awards of up to $50,000 each for early-stage technologies with benchtop proof-of-principle data, paired with 12 months of mentorship, IP guidance, and commercialization coaching.

Ready to Validate Your Solution?

Pitt OIE provides the tools and guidance to de-risk and validate your technologies, ensuring they meet real-world needs and have the potential for success.

• NSF Regional I-Corps Program. The NSF Regional I-Corps program is a one-month customer discovery course that helps Pitt inventors test the commercial potential of a technology by interviewing prospective customers. It was formerly called First Gear. Completing it is a prerequisite for applying to Pitt SPARK.
• Commercialization Gap Fund. Secure up to $75,000 to de-risk Pitt technologies with existing proof-of-concept data and high commercial potential. Open to all fields and disciplines, the Commercialization Gap Fund supports key technical and market studies to bring your innovations closer to commercialization.
• Pitt SPARK. Awards of up to $125,000 are granted to life sciences projects with advanced proof-of-concept data demonstrating real-world feasibility and commercial potential. Pitt SPARK is designed to support the validation of Pitt IP, making it ready for commercially focused external funding and/or tech transfer events.
• Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships. The Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships (OIEP) provides a variety of services to support faculty in partnering with industry, identifying industry funding opportunities and commercializing your idea.
• Community of Innovators. Present your project at Pitt’s Community of Innovators and receive feedback and guidance from industry experts, OIE, and Pitt inventors to develop a solution built for commercial success.
• Pitt Engineering Commercialization Launchpad. SSOE faculty with early-stage, benchtop-validated technology can secure up to $50,000 to advance toward commercial readiness, paired with IP guidance, commercialization coaching, and structured training including NSF I-Corps.

Ready to Launch a Startup?

Ready to launch a startup? Among our comprehensive Pitt Innovation Programs, Pitt OIE offers tailored support and resources to help you turn your innovative solutions into a successful business.

• NSF National I-Corps Program. The NSF National I-Corps program is a separate, seven-week course. Participants interview prospective customers and partners to size the market for a product, process, or service. Regional I-Corps is the
  usual first step.
• SBIR/STTR Grant-Writing Support. SBIR and STTR are competitive programs offered by federal agencies that aim to encourage startups to engage in commercialization efforts. OIE’s New Ventures team assists Pitt startups in writing and securing SBIR and STTR grants. For additional consultation on strategies for applying for SBIR grants, contact startup@pitt.edu .
• Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence has served businesses throughout western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. Offering a dynamic mix of consulting, education, and networking opportunities, the IEE strives to be an innovative leader in economic development in the region. Contact the IEE for more information.

Ready to Ignite Your Innovation Journey as a Student?

As a University of Pittsburgh student, OIE and the Big Idea Center, our hub for student innovation and entrepreneurship at Pitt, provide you with the resources, mentorship, and opportunities to transform your innovative ideas into impactful solutions, whether you’re looking to solve a problem, validate your solution, or launch a startup.

• Big Idea Center: Transform Your Ideas into Impactful Solutions! The Big Idea Center is an on-campus innovation and skill-development center that fosters the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the Pitt student community.
  • At the Big Idea Center, become a ChangeMaker to drive positive impact in the world, boost your idea with a Big Idea Blitz, and compete for funding in pitch competitions. Join us to unlock your potential and make a difference!
• Wells Student HealthTech Competition. The Wells Student HealthTech Competition, sponsored by the Michael G. Wells Entrepreneurial Scholars Fund empowers entrepreneurial students at Pitt by providing faculty support and opportunities to engage with innovative technologies. With $40,000 in prizes, the competition helps advance their discoveries toward commercialization.
• Community of Innovators. Pitt’s Community of Innovators supports University members, including students, postdocs, and residents, at all stages of their innovation and commercialization journeys and provides mentorship, education, and resources to accelerate the translation of novel solutions addressing unmet health challenges.

Need Field-Specific Programs to Elevate Your Team’s Performance?

Discover the tailored solutions we offer to enhance initiatives like the Hunter Family Foundation Innovation in Neuroscience Program.

• Hunter Family Foundation Innovation in Neuroscience Program
  • The Hunter Program provides a $100,000 annual award to advance Pitt technologies in neuroscience from lab discoveries to commercial products. This program supports key proof-of-concept and validation studies, bridging the gap between academic research and market-ready innovations.