Innovator's Academy

The Innovator’s Academy (IA) is an extra-curricular, training program designed to equip students, faculty, and researchers with the skills, mindset, and confidence to navigate each stage of the Innovator’s Journey. It provides an excellent foundation for participation in Pitch George, New Venture Competition, and NSF I-Corps programs.

Innovator’s Academy is built to fit into your busy schedule, with options to attend in person, virtually, or viewing lectures via recordings. Regardless of your idea or goal, IA provides you with the tools to bring your ideas to life, and to apply innovative thinking to your careers, research, and everyday problem-solving.

Planning to participate in OIE’s annual New Venture Competition (NVC)? Complete Innovator’s Academy’s Fall programming and you will be eligible to compete for a special prize in NVC 2027. You’ll also get help building a winning pitch for the Fall Pitch George program, hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CFEE).

No Idea? No Problem

While IA is the perfect training to help you win in GW’s venture competitions, it’s for anyone interested in innovative thinking. You’ll learn how to articulate an idea and develop testable assumptions to validate an idea’s potential for successful adoption.

For Faculty: Easy-to-implement extra credit or supplementary exercise for your classes

Looking for an easy-to-implement extra credit assignment for your students or incorporating preparations for Pitch George or the New Venture Competition to your classes? IA is a simple, flexible and trackable extracurricular experience. Workshops in IA follow the National Science Foundation I-Corps regional curriculum and each workshop has its own worksheet. Student participation can be tracked and reported to you. Ask about how we can help you add a new dimension to your normal class sessions by contacting OIE here.

For more information on integrating this into the classroom, please email innovategwu [dot] edu (innovate[at]gwu[dot]edu)

IA Customer Discovery Certification

Participants entering into IA with personal or assigned venture ideas can conduct customer discovery interviews to validate their problem-solution fit. Fall semester workshops culminate in teams conducting customer discovery interviews all under the guidance of OIE’s expert mentors.

Each workshop will have a corresponding worksheet that must be completed and reviewed with a Mentor-in-residence (MIR) for credit. Participants who complete all worksheets for the Fall IA will be considered for specialty prizes in the New Venture Competition.

Participants should expect to...

1. attend an IA session.
2. complete the associated worksheet
3. meet with an MIR to review the worksheet.

Additionally, participants who have progressed through IA’s Fall Program will be eligible for special category prizes at NVC - which includes a best customer discovery prize.

Customer Discovery Challenge

Want a chance to win up to $1,500 for your venture?

Take on the Customer Discovery Challenge to strengthen your venture, work with a mentor, and compete for additional prize money. Compete against a smaller pool of teams and advance your venture for future rounds by working with a mentor early. This challenge also serves as preparation for Pitch George, another way to win extra prize money!

Competition Dates & Deadlines:

• Application submission deadline: October 30th, 11:59 P.M.
• Customer Discovery Period: From date of acceptance - November 30th, 5:00 P.M.
• Assignment submission deadline: November 30th, 5:00 P.M.

Why participate:

• Compete for up to $1,500 in additional prize money.
• Receive feedback and guidance from an experienced mentor.
• Prepare for Pitch George, another opportunity to compete for prize money.
• Strengthen your venture before the New Venture Competition.

Who can participate:

To be eligible, you must be:

• A current GW student (undergraduate or graduate, part-time or full-time, domestic or international), or
• A GW-affiliated team member, which includes:
  • Current GW faculty or staff
  • GW alumni who graduated no earlier than Fall 2025 / Spring 2026
• Your team must be at least 50% GW-affiliated (see definition above).
• Your team leader must be a current GW student.
• Maximum team size is 5.
  • Teams of 2: Must include at least 1 GW-affiliated member
  • Teams of 5: Must include at least 3 GW-affiliated members

Note: Alumni, faculty, staff, and non-GW individuals may only participate as part of a team that includes a current GW student.

How to participate:

• Register your team for the challenge
• Complete 10 customer discovery interviews
• Complete the Innovator’s Academy worksheets
• Have your interviews and worksheets reviewed by our Mentor-in-Residence (MIR)
• Prepare a “Customer Discovery Insights Report” presentation.

This challenge is optional and will take place this fall, before New Venture Competition Round 1 applications open. To learn more of what to expect and general submission guidelines click here.

Register Here

Explore the topics covered in each level and sign up for our upcoming fall sessions.

• Customer Segments & Buying Ecosystem
• Customer Jobs to be Done
• Value Proposition
• Customer Discovery
• Pitching (Prep Workshop for Pitch George)
• IA Final Review