Rise-Up program
Ideation Studio
What is Ideation Studio?
This program, offered each Fall, Spring, and Summer, supports faculty, staff, students, and community teams from all disciplines to develop a wide range of innovative dual-use solutions and transfer them to the real world as products, services, and new business ventures. Ideation Studio’s goal is to help URI and its ecosystem explore and navigate the establishment of company startups spinning out from the dorm room, garage, classroom, and/or lab. Ideation Studio notably works to include cross-curricular innovators into the project teams. It seeks to generate deep-science high-growth technologies, but also social innovations and is focused on impact rather than just the financial bottom line.
Teams create and iterate a Business Model Canvas (BMC) using the Lean Startup Methodology, execute customer discovery, develop and test their Value Proposition, and create Minimally Viable Products (MVPs) to be tested by early adopters. Participants learn to “love the problem” and identify their customer before falling in love with the solution.
Ideation Studio is supported by collaborations from the URI Research Foundation, RIHub, URI Launch Lab, and MassChallenge, among other RI innovation ecosystem partners, faculty, students, and URI affiliated community members.
If you would like to know more about Ideation Studio, contact RISE-UP at riseupri@urirf.org.
Application Process
Step
1
Apply
Submit a full application
Step
2
Selection Team
Application Review
The RISE-UP Selection Team reviews applications. After the review process, each applicant is informed of the status of their acceptance.
Step
3
Next Steps
Accepted applicants receive an offer letter and onboarding to RISE-UP.
Fall and Spring semester participants attend a weekly two-hour class plus have one to two hours of additional independent work each week. Summer session participants attend six four-hour classes over a two-week period and complete an additional 5-6 hours of independent work each week. There is additional work over the summer which ends with a Pitch Night in September.
Individuals, teams or startups with URI-affiliation, working on innovations they want to commercialize for real-world impact.
Learn
Develop theoretical and applied business acumen and an entrepreneurial mindset through a tailored curriculum. Learn repeatable processes around ideation, customer discovery, identifying your market opportunities, and ultimately develop a lean startup business model canvas.
Grow
Access to funding for supplies and the creation of MVPs, customer discovery, early customer acceptance, customer testing, as well as additional funding opportunities through grant-writing education, partner and investor connections.
1 Semester equivalent of Curriculum based Learning and MVP Development Eligible Projects enter Stage 2 of Development with possible funding.
Evolve
Get individualized assistance from a curated group of program coaches, experienced proven industry mentors, and subject matter experts who are dedicated to supporting the development and expansion of your startup.
Expand
Broaden your network of tech innovators, entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors – in Rhode Island, the United States and globally – by leveraging a range of events and connections facilitated by our ecosystem partners, URI College of Business, URI College of Engineering, RIHub, and URI LaunchLabs.
Who Should Apply?
Ideation Studio is designed to support students, entrepreneurs, researchers, educators, business leaders, and startups in fueling the next steps of their growth. You are encouraged to apply if:
- You wish to learn Lean Startup Methodology via an extensive curriculum
- You are looking to collaborate, network and potentially create/join teams based on common interest areas for problem solving
- You are hoping to develop a Business Model and possible Minimal Viable Product during your participation
Startups that offer URI-affiliated innovations may also apply if:
- At least one member of the company (i.e. founder, executive, technical subject matter expert, researcher) is a URI faculty, researcher, student, staff, and/or alumni. Students and alumni must partner and apply with a current URI faculty and/or staff member; OR
- The technology must have originated and/or been developed at the University of Rhode Island
Program Leads
Joe Loberti
Independent Business Development Consultant
Nishita Roy-Pope
Founder & CEO of Tribe Academy
Annette Tonti
Managing Director at RIHub
Vanessa Alvarez
Consultant
