What Is I-Corps?
The I-Corps program was created by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2011 to facilitate the transition of academic research to market. The NSF offers select teams the opportunity to participate in a fast-paced and rigorous program that helps move products out of the lab and into the market by giving researchers hands-on experience with the challenges of customer discovery.
In the I-Corps™ environment, teams are pushed, challenged, and questioned to help them quickly learn whether or not their ideas are worth pursuing.
Program Structure
The teams — composed of academic technical & entrepreneurial leads and mentors — participate in the curriculum via online instruction and on-site activities at one of the I-Corps Hubs. An I-Corps team project will have three results:
Participate in the first leg of our regional program, ZAP, individually or as a team, online or in-person.
Upon completion of ZAP, participate in the second leg of our regional program, BOOM, online only and by invitation only.
Time to apply for a $50,000 market research grant. Our UCLA I-Corps team will guide you through the process.
For additional questions about the program, please consult the I-Corps FAQ or contact us at startup@ita.ucla.edu