The University of Southern California (USC) Office of Research & Innovation (OORI) is establishing a new program to facilitate opportunities for USC undergraduate and graduate students to become Early Career Innovators and gain valuable entrepreneurial experience working with a small business founded by USC faculty, students, staff, or alumni. Participating companies will be USC-affiliated startups including, but not limited to, small businesses accepted into the USC Techstars accelerator or other USC Techstars Digital Economy programs.
OPPORTUNITY
If selected, USC students who apply to this program will become part of an exclusive network of Early Career Innovators from which USC startups will select participants. Selected Early Career Innovators will join the USC startup for a 3-month long immersive experience, where they will be able to contribute their own expertise, engage in hands-on learning, and gain valuable entrepreneurial skills. There will be a mutual matchmaking process where startups will evaluate Early Career Innovators who may be a good fit for their small business - similarly, Innovators will have the opportunity to review participating startups and indicate which they would be interested in joining. If accepted into the program, there is no guarantee that the student will be accepted by a specific startup, and funds will only be disbursed upon successful matching of Innovator and USC startup.
If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your proposal or have additional questions, please contact: rii@usc.edu.
This portal requires information about the applicants in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
FY25 - RII - ECIA
The University of Southern California (USC) Office of Research & Innovation (OORI) is establishing a new program to facilitate opportunities for USC undergraduate and graduate students to become Early Career Innovators and gain valuable entrepreneurial experience working with a small business founded by USC faculty, students, staff, or alumni. Participating companies will be USC-affiliated startups including, but not limited to, small businesses accepted into the USC Techstars accelerator or other USC Techstars Digital Economy programs.
OPPORTUNITY
If selected, USC students who apply to this program will become part of an exclusive network of Early Career Innovators from which USC startups will select participants. Selected Early Career Innovators will join the USC startup for a 3-month long immersive experience, where they will be able to contribute their own expertise, engage in hands-on learning, and gain valuable entrepreneurial skills. There will be a mutual matchmaking process where startups will evaluate Early Career Innovators who may be a good fit for their small business - similarly, Innovators will have the opportunity to review participating startups and indicate which they would be interested in joining. If accepted into the program, there is no guarantee that the student will be accepted by a specific startup, and funds will only be disbursed upon successful matching of Innovator and USC startup.
If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your proposal or have additional questions, please contact: rii@usc.edu.
This portal requires information about the applicants in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.