Entrepreneurship and Innovation Graduate Internship

The College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) Office for Research and Graduate Education and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) program invite current graduate students advised by CAS faculty to submit an application for the 2020/2021 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Internship. The internship is designed to foster technology development by providing a current graduate student with an opportunity to participate in the process of taking discoveries from their research project towards commercialization.

The purpose of the E&I Graduate Internship is to facilitate practical experiences for students interested in the innovative application of research. E&I Graduate Interns will gain additional professional development and learning opportunities through mentorship and guidance from the E&I program staff and from other programs, such as TechCelerator and iCorps (as appropriate/eligible).  Learning opportunities will generally be focused in the following areas: customer discovery, regulatory environments, business model development, technology scale-up, business formation, and business/technology financing.

Internships must be founded in a research project. Eligible research projects should demonstrate potential for commercial application. Preference will be given to applications affiliated with translational research projects, including but not limited to RAIN projects (awarded or in current application). Projects associated with demonstrated intellectual property development (e.g., an invention disclosure) are also encouraged.

The E&I Graduate Internship will support one graduate student (Master's or Ph.D.) by a providing ½-time graduate assistantship (Grade 14) plus GIA for two semesters, beginning Fall semester 2020 and ending Spring semester 2021. The applicant must be advised by a CAS faculty member in order to be eligible.

DOWNLOAD THE RFA

Application Requirements

Submit the following documents as a unified pdf through the online form linked below by 5:00 pm April 3, 2020.

1. A narrative describing the proposed internship:
   1. Define the research project and its potential for market application (approximately 500 words).
   2. Detail your contribution towards translation or commercialization of the defined research project (approximately 200-500 words).
2. A letter of support from the PI of the commercialization initiative, confirming the contribution of the internship to the technology development effort. If the PI is also the adviser, please also include the details from number 3 below.
3. A letter of support from the student's adviser (if different from the PI above), expressing the value of the project toward the student's academic and professional development.
4. Letter of acknowledgement from the department head, indicating recognition and support of the application. 

Evaluation Process

• Applications will be evaluated by a review panel who will make recommendations to the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education based on an assessment of:
  • The merit of the student and the student's ability to help advance the technology toward the market
  • The merit of the research project and its potential for commercial application (based on the strength of the intellectual property, commercial potential, and market viability)

Reporting Requirement

• At the conclusion of the internship, the E&I Graduate Intern will be asked to provide a report to the Office for Research and Graduate Education. Details on the content expected in this report will be provided at the time of the request.

SUBMIT AN APPLICATION

Please direct questions regarding this opportunity to agresearch@psu.edu.