Lab2Market

Lab2Market is a multi-phased entrepreneurial program for graduate-level UC STEM students with a two-pronged purpose:

• Introduce graduate STEM students to entrepreneurship and the technology commercialization process.
  
• Help students think about the market applications of their research so they can be stronger candidates for industry-related jobs.

Participants will come away from the Lab2Market Symposium with a strong understanding of the technology commercialization process, and the entrepreneurial mindset and toolkit to recognize and evaluate future business opportunities in their own research and professional career.

During the workshop, participants will hear from UC faculty founders and learn about the entrepreneurial resources available to them at UC. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to gain feedback on their research from local entrepreneurs and investors familiar with the market landscape in their research area.

Lab2Market Symposium 2024 will take place on October 17 at the 1819 Innovation Hub. This free event is for UC graduate students with a STEM research area of focus.

Apply to the Lab2Market 2024 Symposium here.

Selected attendees will be eligible for a $100 scholarship credit to be applied to their Catalyst account. Note:  such payment could adjust or limit federal aid eligibility so if you have any concerns consult the Financial Aid office before the credit is distributed to your account (post-event).

All applicants were able to participate virtually in portions of the day's programming. In-person participants were expected to participate in a pre-event, lead-up workshop to prepare them for how to share their research to others in the context of the market landscape.

Lab2Market is open to all UC graduate students whose research connects in some way to a STEM discipline. Participants will be selected based on their research and commercialization interests.

Apply to the Lab2Market 2024 Symposium here.

The deadline to apply is Monday, September 30th 2024 at 11:59PM.  Applicants will be notifiied by October 4th on the status of their acceptance.

The Lab2Market Phase II program is focused on helping students learn how to conduct customer discovery research to better understand the market applications of their own research, an idea not connected to their research and/or the research of another UC stakeholder (i.e. a UC faculty member and/or a Venture Lab company) that they may be matched to.

The program meets weekly with students in a cohort environment where the student will learn how to conduct market research and be challenged to deliver weekly deliverables that will require one to build a network of potential customers and industry connections. Modeled after the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps program, students will come away from the program with a strong understanding of the Lean Startup methodology and a network of industry connections that may be useful to the student for future research and/or career development.

Additional resources (mentorship and funding) may be available at the conclusion of the program for continued venture development.

Students are expected to work 8-10 hours a week on their customer discovery research over a 12-week semester schedule and attend a 60-90 minute weekly meeting where content will be delivered and students present their learnings to date. This spring's 2025 program will be run weekly on Wednesdays from 3:30-5:00pm in the Lindner College of Business' Kautz Attic (Room 4350) starting on January 15th. Graduates of the Lab2Market phase 2 program will be eligible to apply for up to $2500 toward the advancement of their venture development.

Students may apply with either an idea connected to their research or with an idea outside their research area. Additionally, students without their own idea may apply to the program with the intent that they will be matched to a UC faculty member or UC-affiliated startup to conduct customer discovery research for the assigned team.

Apply to the Lab2Market Customer Discovery Phase II here.