Applications for the UW hosted Fall 2025 regional I-Corps program are now closed
Applications for the UW hosted Winter 2025 regional I-Corps program will open on November 24, 2025.
Don’t want to wait until then? Apply to participate in any upcoming NW I-Corps Hub regional programming.
The NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest regional program offers customer discovery training and connects teams to mentors, both of which are critical to the success of any business. During this program, you will learn from proven entrepreneurs how to conduct customer discovery interviews, identify your beachhead customer segment, define your value propositions, and accelerate finding your product market fit.
CoMotion hosts quarterly regional I-Corps programs. Workshops are held virtually on Thursday mornings in January, April, July, and October. In addition to attending all workshops, participants must be ready to commit 20-25 hours per week toward conducting a minimum of 20 customer discovery interviews and meeting for virtual office hours with mentors. There is no cost to attend.
The University of Washington is one of eight institutions that make up the NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest. UW innovators have the opportunity to participate in regional I-Corps programming at any of these institutions. Learn more about NW I-Corps Hub programs and view upcoming course offerings.
Learn more about mentoring a team through early customer discovery.
Program description
The NSF Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) program aims to accelerate academic research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization. Through training and mentorship, program participants learn about the commercialization process and test the value of their business idea by talking to potential customers and stakeholders.
In addition to the main program that all participants can take part in, the NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest occasionally offers industry-specific tracks. Tracks include HealthTech, Blue Tech, AgTech, and CleanTech/ClimateTech tracks which allow participants with innovations in those industries to dive deeper into the specific needs of their fields. Read more about these options on the NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest website.
Details of the program
What you will learn
- How to find and connect with potential customers and stakeholders
- How to prototype a business idea using lean startup tools
- How to tell your story to your stakeholders and your community
- How to use those skills to test the value of your idea
Expectations
- Connecting with and interviewing at least 5 new individuals weekly, for a total of 20 customer discovery interviews during the program
- Capturing insights from those interviews to help evolve your thinking around your project
- Briefly summarize and present weekly work
- Practice your storytelling skills through a 5-minute presentation on your customer discovery learnings
What you will leave with
- Long-lasting connections with industry mentors and other innovators
- Opportunities and support to apply for federal grant funding and other local and national opportunities
Who is it for?
- Faculty, researchers, postdocs, students or staff members from an academic or research institution in the Northwest
- Professionals with industry or startup experience who are looking to mentor the next generation of academic entrepreneurs
Program tracks
Approximately once a year, UW CoMotion offers a discipline-specific NW I-Corps Hub program. This gives participants the opportunity to take a deeper look at their specific industry vertical. Additional discipline-specific programs are offered through the NW I-Corps Hub.
Student researchers at the Molecular and Cellular Biology Lab
HealthTech
CleanTech/ClimateTech
Contact
Email: [email protected]