The UAB College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) announces a FY2013 competition for graduate student entrepreneurship awards. CAS plans to award six such graduate student projects of up to $10,000 each. The goal is to promote student innovation and entrepreneurship across graduate programs in CAS.

This program is open to all students in Master’s or Doctoral graduate programs in CAS. Graduate students supported under this program will undergo basic training in issues of intellectual property disclosure, copyrights, and patent filings, and will gain hands-on experience in assessing market and business potential of early-stage technologies, ideas, and concepts. This CAS program is organized in collaboration with the UAB Research Foundation (UABRF), the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), and the Innovation Depot. The earliest start date for these awards will be March 1, 2013.

Eligibility:

• Must be enrolled as a Masters or Doctoral student in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences.
• In good academic standing with graduate GPA > 3.0.
• It is anticipated that the graduate student is engaged actively in research. In most cases, PhD candidates will be admitted to candidacy in their program of study.
• The proposed research must have a potential commercial partner either locally or nationally and the proposal must include plans for further collaborative research with the external partner. If a student has an innovative idea and needs help connecting to a business partner for commercialization discussions, he/she may contact Associate Dean Yogesh Vohra (ykvohra@uab.edu) for assistance in locating an appropriate partner.

Application Details

• A three page summary of the research program/thesis project stating major research goals, progress to date, and timeline for completion.
• A one page description of future collaborative plans with the commercial partner and the role the graduate student will play in these activities during the one year support period.
• A support letter from a commercial partner confirming participation in the project and any resources committed to the project.
• A support letter submitted separately by the student’s faculty mentor emphasizing the student’s participation in the project and the potential impact that funding may have on commercialization.
• A one-year budget for up to $10,000, along with budget justification. The budget request can include travel support for the student and faculty mentor to commercial partner sites if needed and other research expenses needed to achieve the goals of the collaborative project. This program is for student project support and no CAS funds may be directed to support the commercial partner or faculty mentor salary. The proposed budget and justification is limited to one page.
• Graduate students should email their completed applications to Associate Dean Yogesh Vohra (ykvohra@uab.edu) by February 1, 2013. The faculty mentor should submit a support letter directly to ykvohra@uab.edu.