The 2015 UConn Innovation Quest (iQ) Program kicked off on February 16, 2015, with over 200 undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D. students attending from across UConn. Participating students represented 27 academic disciplines. UConn management professor and iQ program director Rich Dino noted that he has "been blown away with the breadth and depth of the turnout."
The iQ Program is designed to encourage innovators at UConn to develop their product and business ideas into working prototypes and business plans. The iQ Program consists of an intense 10-week program of mentoring, market research and product development. The program culminates in the presentation of awards on April 30, 2015 (which include seed funding for the winning teams) and invitations to participate in UConn's "iQ InQbator," an incubator that in the past has served as a bridge to launching a team's business or to a later-stage incubator program, such as UConn's Technology Incubation Program. Over the past few years, the iQ Program has had several winning teams convert their ideas into promising startups, including Macroscopic Solutions, PartsTech and Smpl Bio.
As of the second session this past Monday, over 50 student teams have formed, each with their own nascent concept for an innovative product or service. The VLD's own Lane Watson and Ben Wiles look forward to mentoring student teams over the coming weeks.
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