Faculty Track
Discover the Faculty track of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, programming for educators. This track equips participants with tools and practices to instill a culture of innovation within academic institutions. Through an "Introduction to Lean Innovation," faculty members gain a solid foundation in lean methodologies. The "Mentor In Residency" program offers personalized guidance from industry experts.
With the "NSF I-Corps Lean Startup Short Course," faculty members learn to transform research into viable startups. Ready-to-use "Classroom Modules" integrate innovation and entrepreneurship concepts seamlessly into existing curricula, nurturing the next generation of trailblazers.
Introduction to Lean Innovation
This is a challenging but critical first step. GW’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship invites our entire community to attend a short introductory workshop, offered monthly, to learn how savvy innovators take this first step - they talk to humans! It sounds simple, but this method is central to Agile Software Development, Design Thinking, and Lean Startup concepts.
We invite anyone who hopes to solve a global problem, start a new business, or develop a new product to join us. Even if your ideas aren’t fully formed, or you haven’t yet assembled a team.
Mentor In Residency
At OIE, we’ve found a significant link between increased hours spent with a mentor and eventual entrepreneurial success. Mentoring consists of ongoing engagement with an innovator which can begin well before an idea is even formed, and last through the development of business models, and into the acceleration process.
Our structured mentoring helps an innovator achieve important “milestones”, and establishes a long-term bond between a team and their dedicated Mentor-in-Residence.
NSF I-Corps Lean Start up Short Course
OIE has served in the U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps since its inception in 2013. NSF I-Corps is an immersive training program which facilitates the transformation of research into societal impact. I-Corps is based on the evidenced-based entrepreneurship methodologies of Lean Startup, which have been deemed by NSF to be the most effective way to build the “entrepreneurial mindset”.
GW’s commercialization training and mentorship help faculty and researchers explore the commercial viability of their ideas through direct interaction with their intended customers, learn their customers’ needs, and examine how those needs could best be fulfilled through market offerings (“customer discovery”).
Classroom Modules
The GW Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (OIE) offers supplemental course curricula on innovation, problem-solving, customer discovery and the entrepreneurial mindset. These Innovation Modules integrate into any course adding a new, team-oriented experiential exercise complementing any program.
OIE works with instructors to develop the right form, duration, and objective to best achieve course learning outcomes. The programs are completely turn-key, with OIE providing instructors, mentors, and materials, and are offered free as a service to the university. To learn more or to begin planning for next semester’s classes contact us at ([email protected]).