EnterpriseWorks Welcomes Institute for Genomic Biology Student Innovators

Categories : EnterpriseWorks, Partnerships & Acquisitions
Posted on: October 15, 2021

A partnership between EnterpriseWorks and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology has resulted in more student entrepreneurship and innovation coming to the incubator.

Teams that recently completely the Young Innovator Program at IGB, a 10-week innovation summer program, will further commercialize their ideas at EnterpriseWorks. 

The program taught the participants — all graduate students and postdocs — learned many aspects of innovation including patent law, technology transfer, market research, science communication, and entrepreneurship.

The program concluded with an idea competition, where the participants showcased the skills that they learned over the summer.

Judges evaluated participants on their ability to identify a problem, their product’s market attractiveness, and budgeting, amongst other variables. The judging panel included EnterpriseWorks entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) Gerald Wilson, the President and Co-founder of Autonomic Materials Incorporated (also an EnterpriseWorks graduate).

A top three spot in the competition resulted cash prizes ranging from $5,000-$20,000.

In addition to monetary awards, all participants received one year of paid affiliation to EnterpriseWorks at Research Park. EnterpriseWorks supports University of Illinois and community tech entrepreneurs in all stages of their startup journey.

Having affiliate status will allow all participants to access the shared working space and facilities, including support with visual branding and website development.

The winners of the competition include: 

  • First Place: Vasiliki Kolliopoulos, for their idea to develop a platform to screen biomaterials for bone injuries.
  • Second Place:  Aleczandria Tiffany, for their plan to develop an implant for tissue regeneration.
  • Third Place: Victoria Kriuchkovskaia, for their idea to develop a platform to screen drugs for glioblastoma.

Congratulations to all the participants. For more information, visit the IGB news story online.

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