COMPLETE TITLE: THE NATIONAL COLLEGIATE INVENTORS AND INNOVATORS
ALLIANCE (NCIIA) GRANT PROGRAM
SPONSOR: The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance
(NCIIA)
PURPOSE: Support for colleges and universities teaching invention,
innovation and entrepreneurship.
DEADLINE: December 15, 1999; May 15, 2000
SUMMARY: The NCIIA grant program funds curriculum development and the
work of teams of student inventors known as "E-Teams." The grants
encourage interdisciplinary groups of students to work collaboratively
to identify real-world problems, develop practical solutions, and
commercialize their innovations.
The NCIIA will award approximately 50 grants of $1 - 50,000 each to
faculty and students of member institutions. The NCIIA will provide
financial support for the creation and establishment of programs and
courses that promote invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship and
support the work of student/faculty E-Teams. NCIIA grants fund work
from the initial concept, through exploratory E-Team course work; to
patenting, licensing, and steps leading to commercialization of new
technologies.
Two types of grants are offered:
* Type I: E-team Course and Program Development Grants range from
$2,000 to $50,000 and may be used for equipment, supplies, travel,
technical services, limited faculty stipends and expenses directly
related to creating an E-Team program. Eligible expenses include
the costs of performing patent searches, creating marketing analysis,
business plans, and prototypes.
* Type II: Advanced E-Team Grants range from $1,000 to $20,000 and may
be used for further development and plans for commercialization of
their ideas. These grants will be renewable for up to three years.
in declining amounts.
The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance or NCIIA is a
unique interdisciplinary educational program started at Hampshire
College in November 1995 with the generous support of the Jerome and
Dorothy Lemelson Foundation. The mission of the Alliance is to foster
and promote the teaching of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship
at colleges and universities around the country. The NCIIA aspires to
nurture a new generation of innovators by helping colleges and
universities to prepare students to be inventors and entrepreneurs.
This is done by facilitating and supporting collaborative learning
structures at higher ed institutions of all types nationwide.
The Alliance provides support in the form of grants to faculty and
students, services and information for members, and meetings,
workshops and other resources designed to assist in the development
of new programs focusing on commercially directed innovation. A young
and growing program, the NCIIA has 55 member institutions and supports
a broad variety of educational programs and student projects throughout
the country.
The program had its origins in the passionate belief of its benefactors
that the health and prosperity of the American economy results in large
part from the creativity and ingenuity of American inventors and the
unique legal and economic structures that protect and encourage the
development and commercial exploitation of their ideas. They created
the Lemelson National Program at Hampshire College, and subsequently,
the NCIIA, to support educational initiatives in innovation.
The primary mechanism in this effort is the E-Team (the "E" stands for
excellence and entrepreneurship). An E-Team is a group of students,
faculty and mentoring professionals who together pursue the development
of an idea, product or invention, or solve a problem in a way that is
likely to result in the licensing of new products or technologies or
the startup of entrepreneurial ventures. Mr. Lemelson's inspiration
for the E-Team model was the collaborative interdisciplinary
development teams used during W.W.II to rapidly develop innovative
technical solutions to urgent wartime needs. The strengths of a
collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to problem solving are
embodied in this model. The E-Team serves as a interdisciplinary
bridge crossing over barriers between traditional disciplines
(such as engineering, business and liberal arts) and between
the business and academic communities. It is intended to serve as a
flexible, open model and a source of new ideas rather than a doctrine.
The Alliance serves as a resource to faculty and students at member
schools, providing curriculum models, faculty development and
networking opportunities, technical advice, and financial support of
E-Teams in the form of grants.
The grants program will distribute $1.1 million in support of
curriculum development and E-Team projects. Grants support curriculum
development, classes and the work of independent E-Teams. Eligible
expenses include; equipment, supplies, prototyping costs, travel,
patent and legal costs, and student stipends. The next application
deadlines are December 15, 1999 and May 15, 2000.
CONTACT:
NCIIA Grants Program
Lemelson Program
Hampshire College-LM
Amherst, MA 01002-5001
Phone: (413) 559-5318
Fax: (413) 559-5834
E-mail: nciia@hampshire.edu
Website: http://hampshire.edu/nciia
Keycode Keyword A006000 Foundation Funding Opportunities 0505002 College Students 050500A All Higher Education 0500000 Education 0505000 Higher Education 0901050 Entrepreneurship 090100A All Management & Commerce (A-K) 0900000 Management & Commerce 0000025 Instruction & Curriculum Development 0404000 Behavioral Studies & Social Problems 0715000 Disease Entities & Medical Problems 0901053 Problem Solving 040400A All Behavioral Studies & Social Problems 0400000 Behavioral & Social Sciences 071500A All Disease Entities & Medical Problems & Behavior 0700000 Health & Safety, Medical & Biomedical Sciences 090105A All Management & Commerce (L-Z) 0901010 Commerce 0901035 Management & Commerce Planning & Policy 0901028 Marketing 1010002 Analysis & Functional Analysis 0755018 Data Management & Analysis 101000A All Mathematics 1000000 Science & Technology & Mathematics & Computer Science 075500A All Methodologies & Procedures (Health & Safety & Medical) 1010000 Mathematics 0404050 Methodologies & Procedures, Social Science 1004235 Protocol Conversion 100400A All Computer Science 1004000 Computer Science 0000034 Research 0600000 Engineering 0502019 Humanities & Liberal Education 031000A All Humanities, General & Other 0300000 Arts & Humanities & Cultural Activities 0310000 Humanities, General & Other 0801025 Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks 080102A All Law (L-Z) 0800000 Law
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