CU Boulder is proud to be a leader of the I-Corps™ Hub: West Region, one of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (“I-Corps”) Hubs. This Hub is a partnership with seven of the top research universities across the Western United States, alongside our partners the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)

What is I-Corps™?

I-Corps™ programs are designed to help reduce the time and risk associated with translating promising ideas and technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace. This personalized program helps researchers transform their discoveries into products and services that can benefit society within a community of entrepreneurs, educators and mentors. Anyone is welcome to attend, including those outside the CU System.

Why participate?

  • Build relationships and gain skills in an inclusive, welcoming environment
  • Chance to win a $50,000 small business grant in the national I-Corps program
  • Become part of the I-Corps national ecosystem as an alumni with access to resources across the Hub-member institutions

"[The] programs have beenincredibly helpful in transitioningfrom a research discovery mindset inthe laboratory to a market discovery mindset." —Mark Rentschler, CU Boulder Mechanical Engineering professor

Programming Track

Follow the Venture Partner at CU Boulder programming track all the way to the National program.

Starting Blocks

Offered four times a year by Venture Partners

The program is a three-day workshop with customer interviews designed to help scientists and engineers of all types find a market for their innovations. The core concept encourages inventors to get out of the lab and talk to industry decision-makers to find out what problem the industry needs their product to solve.

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Research to Market (R2M)

Offered twice a year by Venture Partners

A three-week program that teaches scientific and engineering inventors and teams the process of customer discovery and how to find a market for their technology by getting out of the lab. Derived from the National Science Foundation's I-Corps™ program, R2M leverages the nationally-recognized Lean LaunchPad and Business Model Canvas methodologies specifically designed for university researchers commercializing their inventions.

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National I-Corps Teams Program

Teams have three primary members: the technical lead, the entrepreneurial lead and the I-Corps™ mentor. All three team members participate fully in the I-Corps Curriculum, which provides real-world, hands-on, immersive learning about what it takes to successfully transfer knowledge into products and processes that benefit society. 

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