I-Corps FAQ

Have questions? You’re not alone. Here you’ll find answers to the most common questions we’ve been asked so far. If you don’t see what you need, ask us. Maybe your question will make this list.

Teams can have multiple faculty members, postdocs, or students who want to contribute to the team and learn, but only one person is listed as the Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) and one is listed as the Technical Lead (TL).

Yes, you can attend the Intro to I-Corps Workshop without having a team member for each position.

For the Regional Course, at a minimum, teams need an Entrepreneurial Lead and a Technical Lead.

For example, a faculty member may serve as the Technical Lead, while a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher could serve as the Entrepreneurial Lead.

Other arrangements are possible, and we welcome your questions about specific situations. 

Yes! In addition, by completing the I-Corps Regional Course, you will establish an NSF funding lineage for your project, making it eligible for other sources of commercialization-focused funding from the NSF.

The I-Corps @ UF program is open to research teams at other research institutions who are seeking to better understand their target market and value proposition. Teams without a university affiliation might also be accepted, depending on whether they have deep-tech or deep-tech-adjacent technology.

Unless you have extenuating circumstances, we require all team members to attend all of the course meetings so you can make rapid progress and benefit from the course. One person should serve as the primary point of contact.

We encourage teams to apply as early as possible since cohorts fill up fast. Team applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

To ensure each team has a successful program outcome, teams should ensure they have adequate time to dedicate to the program. Teams for the Regional Course are encouraged to apply when they have two members (an Entrepreneurial Lead and a Technical Lead) able to:

    1. Attend all program sessions and
    2. Dedicate time between sessions for homework, including conducting the required customer discovery

No, participating in the I-Corps program does not count as public disclosure. In fact, we discourage teams from talking about the specifics of their technology. The process of customer discovery focuses on identifying stakeholders’ unmet needs and pain points, and is best done without disclosing your potential solutions.

While filling out the application form, please do not disclose any confidential details about the technology – just a brief, high-level overview will suffice.

The program aims to help researchers explore the translation of scientific and technological discoveries. These are sometimes called “deep technologies” because they result from investigations into profound questions in science and engineering.

If you have a group you would like us to present to, contact us at nsficorps@ufl.edu to schedule a custom workshop. Our teams can customize the presentation to your audience.

UPCOMING I-CORPS OPPORTUNITIES

UF Innovate | Pathways

747 Southwest 2nd Avenue, Suite 108
Gainesville, FL 32601

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 115575
Gainesville, FL 32611-5575

Phone Number