The NTH Incubator will serve as a pipeline for founding and funding teams dedicated to female and URM inclusivity. We will educate, train, and prepare innovators for a journey that will provide an even playing field for innovators from low-resource environments.
The NTH Incubator will also launch a “Spark” program targeted to all STEM students across the HBCUs and minority serving institutions (MSIs) to introduce the neurotech field and the opportunities it provides, as well as the training required to be competitive in this space.
The NTH Incubator will also provide professional support via NTH Edge.
Learning elements will be curated and led by our experts and will focus on translation readiness, commercialization, professional development, and project management.
Commercialization & Translation
Workshops and bootcamps with topics to include:
- how to define and achieve milestones when developing a neuromedical technology beginning with the need, idea, proof of concept etc. and ending with clinical trials, approval and launch;
- how to incorporate equitability and accessibility into the solution design;
- how to perform a rigorous needs assessment to identify the most pressing problems and underserved populations;
- how regulatory pathways are created and followed;
- how to secure angel and VC funding
We will introduce valuable tools, such as the GAITS platform and Project Libre to teach students how to plan their innovation adventure and how to set and keep track of milestones and deliverables. Students trained in the GAITS platform will have the opportunity to be compensated to teach NTH innovator applicants how to use GAITS to maximize their chances of the proposal being awarded (within the Evaluation Core). Students trained in Project Libre will have the opportunity to be compensated to teach innovator teams that have been funded through NTH how to create a timeline and workplan for milestones and deliverables to be achieved (within the Innovator Core).
Professional Development
- Securing Research Funding: Successfully securing research funding from government agencies or private institutions is a challenge, particularly when a faculty member’s home institution does not have supporting resources.We will host highly interactive, engaging, and personal (2-3 senior faculty per workshop for 2-3 days) workshops for senior postdocs and faculty to help participants clearly articulate the significance and innovation of their study designs.
- Effective Communication: Coming up with innovative solutions in neurotech is necessary for successful commercialization but effective communication (written or verbal) is critical to having these solutions get noticed. This workshop is designed to help innovators improve their oral presentation skills in a practice-intensive environment. Students will learn how to hone their message, to craft presentations that address both technical and non-technical audiences, and create clear, compelling presentations. All presentations will be recorded for self-evaluation, and students will receive extensive instructor and peer feedback
- Managing People and Resolving Conflicts: Topics will include dealing with team dysfunction, persuasive and negotiation techniques Learning will include a combination of seminar style reading and discussion, lecture and workshop activities.
Project Management
Projects are designed to achieve very specific goals in a designated time frame with a specified number of resources. For the innovator projects to successfully meet objectives, all these items must be planned, coordinated and orchestrated. This workshop explores the processes and tools available to those who manage projects to optimize outcomes within the primary constraints of time, quality, scope and budget. Workshop time involves presentations, examples and discussion.
Professional Support with NTH Edge
NTH Edge (Extramural Development in Graduate Education) NTH Edge will provide opportunities to give students a glimpse of what can lies ahead post-graduation and prepare them to excel in their neurotech careers. Opportunities include paid internships to work in innovator labs across the country or in industry.