Who We Are
The staff and instructors of the NSF I-Corps Hub: Southeast Region are passionate about empowering academic researchers with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in innovation and entrepreneurship. Our mission is to guide researchers in transforming their discoveries into impactful solutions for society.
Goals
Reimagine University Innovation:
Enhance regional and national competitiveness by rethinking the journey from research ideation to invention to spinout. Leverage leadership in science to drive impactful innovation.
Develop Tomorrow’s Technical Leaders:
Equip researchers, faculty, and students with the entrepreneurial mindset, skills, and networks they need to pursue meaningful career paths.
Transforming Traditional University Research
The Hub fosters a fundamental shift in how universities approach research commercialization. Faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to engage directly with stakeholders and potential users of their technologies.
From ideation to de-risking and funding support, our nationally recognized instructors, trainers, and mentors provide seamless guidance to help participants transition their ideas from lab to market efficiently and effectively.
Empowering Researchers for Commercial Success
The Southeast I-Corps Hub delivers an immersive educational experience, focusing on:
- Understanding the market potential of new technologies.
- Identifying the value of research beyond academic papers or grant proposals.
Participants gain the tools to assess their innovation’s commercial viability by addressing questions like:
- Is there a clear problem or unmet need the technology addresses?
- Who are the target customers, and what are their pain points?
- How does the solution compare to existing alternatives?
- Is there substantial commercial potential for the innovation?
About the National Innovation Network
The Southeast I-Corps Hub is part of the National Innovation Network, a coalition of NSF-funded researchers, I-Corps Teams, and Hubs. Together, this network advances innovation education to meet America’s need for cutting-edge technological development.
Our Approach
To achieve regional collaboration and impact, the Hub:
- Leverages resources and expertise across partner universities.
- Hosts world-class training programs for scientists, engineers, and researchers.
- Develops and supports ideas with the potential to create societal impact.
- Implements tools to enhance the nation’s innovation capacity.
- Analyzes and applies data-driven insights from team experiences to improve innovation practices.
- Shares effective strategies to promote meaningful, impactful innovations.
Teams
I-Corps Teams are composed of academic researchers, student entrepreneurs, and business mentors¬ who participate in the curriculum via online instruction and onsite activities through Partners and Hubs.
Partners
I-Corps™ Partners are top universities that provide infrastructure, resources, mentorship, networking opportunities, and funding to enable teams to transition their work into the marketplace or into becoming I-Corps Team applicants.
Hubs
I-Corps Hubs support regional needs for innovation education and work to build, utilize, and sustain a national innovation ecosystem that further enhances the development of technologies that benefit society.
Part of the National Innovation Network
The NSF I-Corps Hub: Southeast Region is a key member of the National Innovation Network, a coalition of NSF-funded researchers, I-Corps Teams, and Hubs. This network collaborates to address America’s growing need for innovation education.
Our Hub leverages the resources and expertise of partner universities to host world-class training programs for scientists and engineers. Together, we aim to:
- Identify and support promising ideas with societal impact.
- Create tools that enhance the nation’s innovation capacity.
- Gather, analyze, and utilize data from team experiences to refine processes.
- Share best practices to improve the development of meaningful innovations.
Through collaboration and education, the Southeast Region I-Corps Hub is empowering innovators to create impactful solutions and drive America’s future forward.
Learn More
Discover how the Southeast Region I-Corps Hub can support your innovation journey.