The Vice President for Research Innovation Flight Fund fills a critical gap in the technology development pathway at Temple University by providing a resource to perform critical experiments and establish initial proof-of-concept, such as the development of initial device prototypes, performance of initial validation studies for therapeutics, and developing and testing software (including AI-based concepts).
Learn more about the Innovation Flight Fund in the sections below.
Innovation Flight Fund Size: The $250,000/year fund is designed to support multiple smaller technology development projects, subject to annual budget approvals by the Vice President for Research.
Target Project: Unlicensed emerging technologies developed by Temple University faculty and staff. Examples of project categories and potential uses of funds:
Per Project Funding: Project funding up to $50,000 will be considered.
An Innovation Manager from the Technology Commercialization and Business Development office and Student Fellow from the Innovation Nest will be available to support project management and provide guidance during the project. Final reports by the PI are due 60 days following completion of the project.
FCCC can apply if Temple University is a joint owner in the intellectual property associated with the project.
No, this fund is intended to help advance a technology to a stage that attracts further funding or enables the university to achieve other commercialization milestones, such as IP protection (patent, copyrights, etc.) filing, licensing, or forming a business to further develop the technology.
Temple’s Technology Commercialization and Business Development team will work with you to select the accelerator that is appropriate for each team based on the technology field, stage of development and other factors.
Part of the proposal assessment will consider whether the proposed project can be achieved during the 6-month (max) project period. The purpose of the fund is to achieve the proposed results during this period without extensions. Limited no-cost extensions may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Request should be submitted to [click-for-email].
If you previously disclosed the technology (to be developed under the proposal) to the Technology Commercialization and Business Development office, no additional action is necessary. If you have not disclosed the technology included in your proposal, please complete a disclosure here and contact Niraj Muni at [click-for-email] if you need assistance.
