Contact:
Barbara Pruitt, 816-932-1288; bpruitt@kauffman.org
First workshop introduces Fellows to experts who can help them commercialize their innovations and start new firms
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Oct. 7, 2009) – The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today welcomed its inaugural class of Entrepreneur Postdoctoral Fellows for its fall program workshop, the first in a series of workshops planned over the next year. As part of the new Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation initiative, the Fellows program will tap the entrepreneurial potential of 13 brilliant postdoctoral researchers.
The weeklong workshop, "From Postdoc to Startup," will be the first step in immersing the selected Fellows in an intensive one-year program that does not exist anywhere else in the world.
"With nearly 50,000 postdoctoral researchers in the United States, these Fellows have already proven that they are extraordinary innovators," said Carl Schramm, Kauffman Foundation president and CEO. "We believe that, with this program, we can empower them to take their discoveries from the lab to the market."
Successful entrepreneurs, scientists, venture capitalists, and other business luminaries will mentor the Fellows and advise them in the commercialization process. In addition to the workshops and mentoring relationships, each Fellow will undertake an industry internship suited to his or her research interests and entrepreneurial objectives. These learning experiences will give the Fellows first-hand knowledge of the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship.
