NSF I-Corps Programs at UD
Northeast Hub partner institution
Explore how your research creates value beyond the lab
NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) helps researchers explore how their work can create real-world value.
Through structured customer discovery and stakeholder engagement, participants learn how their research can translate into impact through multiple pathways, including startups, industry partnerships, licensing, policy influence, and new research directions.
Quick overview of programs
🧭 NOVUS
An introductory, in-person workshop and networking event. Open to individuals and teams.
🚀 PROPELUS
A four-session, team-based program with up to $1,500 NSF support for customer discovery expenses.
Next steps: Complete PROPELUS to become eligible for NSF National I-Corps Teams (7-week program + $50,000 grant).
Research translation is not only about building startups
Commercialization, or research translation, takes many forms. I-Corps helps researchers understand where their work matters, who it serves, and what pathway makes the most sense. For some teams, that leads to a startup. For many others, it leads to stronger collaborations, clearer broader impacts, licensing opportunities, or better-informed research decisions.
Industry partnerships
Explore where your research solves real problems for companies, labs, hospitals, communities, and public-sector organizations.
Licensing
Identify where an invention may be better advanced through technology transfer rather than startup formation.
New research directions
Use stakeholder discovery to sharpen research questions, broader impacts, and future funding proposals.
Startups, when appropriate
For some teams, customer discovery reveals a strong case for venture creation and follow-on commercialization support.
What researchers gain from I-Corps
NSF I-Corps helps faculty explore how their research can create impact beyond the lab by connecting with stakeholders and testing potential applications early, and gives graduate students and postdocs practical experience understanding how research connects to real needs outside academia.
For faculty
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Identify where their research creates the most impact
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Strengthen broader impacts sections for proposals
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Explore licensing, partnerships, or translational funding pathways
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Better understand stakeholder needs before scaling a research direction
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Build connections with industry, clinicians, nonprofits, and agencies
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Support trainees interested in research translation pathways
For graduate students & postdocs
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Gain experience talking with stakeholders outside academia
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Clarify how their research connects to real needs beyond the lab
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Strengthen fellowship, grant, and job applications
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Explore career pathways in industry, consulting, policy, startups, and innovation roles
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Build confidence explaining their work to non-experts
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Expand their professional network
Choose your program
NOVUS and PROPELUS are offered through the NSF I-Corps Northeast Hub. Both are designed to help researchers test real customer needs through structured customer discovery.
NOVUS (Half-day workshop + networking)
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Intro to I-Corps methodology and customer discovery
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Shift focus from technology to understanding the people who could benefit
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Meet local I-Corps leaders and tech transfer partners
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Network to form teams and find collaborators
Best for:
Individuals and teams who want a practical, low-barrier entry point.
PROPELUS (Four sessions, team-based)
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Lean LaunchPad training with structured customer discovery
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Designed to assess viability and societal impact of discoveries
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Mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and innovators
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Up to $1,500 NSF support for customer discovery expenses
Best for:
Teams of 2 or more ready to run customer discovery as a structured project and evaluate real-world value.
Funding pathway: PROPELUS includes a $1,500 NSF grant. After PROPELUS, teams may apply for NSF National I-Corps Teams and compete for a $50,000 NSF grant.
Your path through I-Corps
A common progression, but you can enter at the right point for your team.
About the NSF I-Corps Northeast Hub
The NSF I-Corps Northeast Hub is part of a nationwide NSF-funded network of universities formed to accelerate the economic impact of federally funded research while building skills and opportunities among researchers from all backgrounds, including those historically underrepresented in entrepreneurship.
Princeton University is the principal institution in the Hub, along with partner institutions including: the University of Delaware, Rutgers University, Lehigh University, Temple University, NJIT, Rowan University, Delaware State University, Drexel University, Yale University, and the University of Connecticut.
The Hub provides entrepreneurial training, mentoring, and resources using the NSF I-Corps approach focused on customer discovery and learning directly from potential customers and stakeholders.
I-Corps objectives
What the program is designed to build and support.
Training an entrepreneurial workforce
Build skills in customer discovery, storytelling, and venture thinking.
Translating technologies
Connect scientific discoveries to real customer needs and use cases.
Enabling economic impact
Move innovations toward commercialization and job creation.
Nurturing an innovative ecosystem
Join a supportive, inclusive network of mentors and institutions.
Testimonials
"While we have a potentially interesting technology, I purposely got us into I-Corps what most would consider too early because I wanted to see how the customer discovery process might influence the technical development." Dr. Mark Blenner, Associate Professor, UD Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (Propelus 2023)
"This program was great for learning about customer discovery and the products that people actually need. It also boosted my confidence when talking to people and helped me broaden my network." Heather LaFrance, Undergraduate Researcher (Propelus 2026)
Upcoming cohorts
What the program is designed to build and support.
Novus
| Format | Half day (in-person) |
| Date | Friday, May 1 |
| Time | 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM |
| Location | ATS Faculty Commons (The Sandbox) 116 Pearson Hall, Newark, DE 19716 University of Delaware |
| Registration deadline | Monday, April 27 |
| Who can join | Individuals and teams |
| Cost | No cost to participate |
Propelus
| Format | Four-session, team-based program |
| Date | July 9, 16, 23, and August 6 (Thursdays) |
| Time | 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM |
| Location | Virtual (Zoom) |
| Application deadline | Thursday, June 11 |
| Who can join | Teams of at least two people with an innovation |
| Cost | No cost to participate |
FAQ
Quick answers to common questions.
Programs are open to faculty, postdocs, graduate students, undergraduates, community entrepreneurs, and others in Delaware working on scientific or technical innovations.
There is no cost to participate.
No. I-Corps is designed to help you explore and validate market need, regardless of whether you’ve formed a company.
No. I-Corps focuses on customer discovery and understanding real-world needs. Some teams pursue startups, while others pursue tech transfer, partnerships, further research, or other impact pathways.
NOVUS is a half-day introductory workshop and networking event. PROPELUS is a four-session, team-based customer discovery program with up to $1,500 NSF support for customer discovery expenses.
No. NOVUS is open to individuals and teams, and it is a great place to meet potential teammates.
Contact
Questions about fit, eligibility, or team formation? Reach out.
Program Manager: Erha Andini
Email: erha@udel.edu
Learn more: https://icorpsnortheasthub.org/