Rutgers University, 2009 - $10,000

This grant will help to meet the demand at Rutgers for more entrepreneurship-focused education by creating educational and training materials for the Rutgers Entrepreneurship Lab (REL). The REL will become part of the Business, Engineering, Science, and Technology Institute (BEST) at RU, a new interdisciplinary institute created by the Business school. The benefits of BEST include windows for hands-on, real-life study through project and case studies; internship and employment opportunity; and the generation of actual business plans based on real IP. Activities of the Rutgers Startup Fund, a donation-funded program that identifies, funds, and advises promising Rutgers IP, will be integrated with this new educational program. The Rutgers Entrepreneurship Society, a student-run organization, and the Next-Phase Workshops, a continuing education program that focuses on business intelligence for startups and small companies, will also serve as outreach and extension activities for REL. In accordance with the supply-chain of innovation commercialization, the proposed REL will be divided into “innovation stations,” stations that concentrate on a different element of the innovation/entrepreneurship process. Students will be able to progress in an organized and efficient manner in order to meet their goals. Stations include a brainstorming area, a technical area, and a mentoring area.