Slots: 2 maximum.
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Monday, October 2nd, 2023, 5pm PT
LOI: N/A
External Deadline: November 8, 2023
Award Information
Award Type: Grant
Who May Serve as PI: Organizations must be US-based and VentureWell members.
Link to Award: https://venturewell.org/course-program-grants/
PDF of Guidelines: https://venturewell.org/wp-content/uploads/VentureWell-Course-Program-Grants-2023-Guidelines.pdf
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
VentureWell Course & Program (C&P) Grants of up to $30,000 are awarded to U.S. higher education institutions to expand and strengthen STEM innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) ecosystems, with the end goal of accelerating sustainable and inclusive innovation. Ideally, C&P Grant funding should act as a catalyst for increased entrepreneurial activity and help faculty and universities leverage other opportunities to launch and/or grow their I&E ecosystems.
C&P Grants may be used to strengthen existing curricular programs or to build new, pedagogically inclusive courses and programs that engage students in collaboratively developing and pursuing scalable solutions to real-world needs through STEM I&E.
Activities supported by C&P Grants should lead to effective courses and programs that are sustained by the institution, enhancing collaboration between students and the larger community by leveraging experiential learning practices, and expand opportunities for learning across STEM I&E.
C&P Grant proposals may include plans to create or improve an individual course, course sequence, minor, major, certificate program, or other co- or extracurricular program that is directly tied to and supports I&E-focused curricula. Programs are defined as a set of organized, planned activities or structures that occur on an ongoing basis and are intended to work in collaboration with departments and degree pathways (e.g., engaging with a tech transfer office, office of sustainability, office of entrepreneurship, certificate program, community-based learning program, etc.).
Proposals are required to address the following core components:
- Inclusive innovation
- Sustainability
- I&E ecosystem building
- Stakeholder collaboration
- Project team & resources
- Long-term financial plan & deliverables
Proposals may also include the following:
- General invention-oriented (science- and technology-based) entrepreneurship
- Emergent industries in your region that solve social and environmental problems (i.e., biomedical and healthcare innovation, clean energies, agriculture, educational technologies, etc.)
- Interdisciplinary innovation & entrepreneurship with a STEM component
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.