Innovation
Assessment

Have an invention you think is worth pursuing?
This course teaches fundamental skills involved in assessing the patentability and market for an invention.

Lab To Launch

Want to learn how to bring a new innovation to market?
This course places you on a team to build a business plan for an invention sourced from a research lab at Illinois Tech.

Research Commercialization Bootcamp

Interested in having your research discovery impact society?
This bootcamp allows you to explore avenues to do so while engaging with industry experts and faculty innovators.

Innovation
Assessment

TechForward is proud to be developing a talented pool of professionals looking to make a positive impact in society with their research discoveries. In an effort to cultivate intelligent and ever-growing minds, TechForward is offering an online certificate course that builds the fundamental skills required to understand the value of a research discovery, protect it, and license it to commercialization partners.

This program aligns with the goals outlined in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s National Strategy for Inclusive Innovation. 

By taking this course, professionals will learn if an idea or invention is worth pursuing, whether they should protect their intellectual property, and how to go about doing so.

    • Knowledge of intellectual property

    • Strategic business development

    • Relationship management and communication

    • Value assessment

    • Complex technology analysis

    • Understanding commercialization paths

    • Market analysis

Unlock Your Potential and
Learn How to Commercialize It

Want more information on this course?

Lab To Launch

Building Teams To Launch Startups From Illinois Tech Research

Program Description

You will be part of a team working on a specific project to build the go-to-market plan for the faculty research like you would if you were part of a startup.

    • How to achieve problem-solution fit through customer discovery

    • How to prioritize business and technical goals by identifying and prioritizing business risks

    • How to use the Business Model Canvas to set and validate hypotheses.

    • How to build a well-rounded team

    • How to set up a governance structure for a startup and recruit and manage an advisory board (eventually a board of directors)

    • Open-ended problem solving around technology development and business model design

    • Team-based collaboration and project management

    • Ethical considerations in launching a startup and decision making

    • Investor/professional presentation skills

How To Participate

This is an academic course intended for Illinois Tech graduate students and undergraduates, permit only. There will be up to 10 FREE seats available to individuals in the community who are interested in participating and joining the teams.

Course Logistics

Register for the fall Deep Tech Commercialization—IPRO 497-629, or the corresponding graduate listing MBA-576-01.

Interested and you’re an Illinois Tech student?

Not a part of Illinois Tech and interested in a free seat?

Research Commercialization Bootcamp

Gain A Market Perspective to Guide Your Research

Program Description

This bootcamp is intended for faculty members, students, and community members who are interested in working on translational research. These workshops are designed to provide an introduction to the translational topics, while one-on-one meetings with industry experts are designed to dig deeper in order to gain a true understanding of these topics.

    • Potential avenues to commercialize your research by engaging with experts in the commercial, legal, technology, and design domains

    • Today’s most critical societal challenges

    • Intellectual property and licensing

    • Market Validation

    • Business Planning

    • Available resources to support innovators at Illinois Tech and Chicago, based on what problems you’re hoping to solve.

Our Past Partners

We’ve partnered with leading institutions such as Illinois Tech’s very own Kent College of Law and the Institute of Design, NSF Great Lakes Regional Engine, the Institute for Translational Medicine, the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, and mHUB to drive innovation from lab to market.

Want more information on this bootcamp?