Kentucky Commercialization Ventures names 10 fellows to inaugural innovation program

As an engineering student at University of Louisville, Kayla Meisner never felt like she fit into the role of an engineer.

But when she wanted to explore opportunities in entrepreneurship, she was told it was only for business students. Two years later, Meisner landed a role within UofL's technology transfer office and made it a point to establish a pipeline of engineering students and others that wanted to learn about how to commercialize ideas.

Now, as a licensing and new ventures professional at Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV), Meisner is looking to do the same for students and faculty at other universities through a new pilot program.

"There was no place for people to go if they didn't have an idea or if they didn't have any baseline skills in entrepreneurship," she said. "That was my first tell that we needed something... our regional schools had no opportunities in this space, especially for students."

KCV has established an Innovation Fellowship program designed to equip the next generation of ecosystem builders with the practical skills necessary to lead the translation of Kentucky’s most innovative solutions to the real-world market. During the two-month pilot program, the fellows are receiving proven frameworks, resources and networking opportunities to create a hands-on, customized and integrated educational experience focused on commercialization.

Initially, Meisner said she was anticipating three, or at most five fellows for the first-time program. However, KCV got more applicants than anticipated.

"I was excited to see the number of applicants and the competitive applicant pool we got and also that we were able to invite 10 people to participate," said Megean Kincaid, marketing director of KSTC, who spearheaded the fellowship program alongside Meisner. "This is a pilot cohort and there's obviously a desire for this kind of program out there."

The fellows in the inaugural cohort are:

During the first few weeks of the program, fellows will be tasked with identifying and working to solve a problem within their field of expertise or another issue they are passionate about. The program includes bi-weekly cohort meetings held online, independent study with high-quality startup training materials, guided application exercises and bi-weekly coaching sessions with KCV staff and coaches. Then, by the end of April, the fellows will have a business pitch.

"We're not necessarily expecting that each person is going to file IP [intellectual property] and do a startup company, but the real goal is for them to go through the ideation process," Meisner said. "This is a failure-safe zone. We're not expecting you to file an LLC with the state after this. We're not expecting you to do a patent application. We just really want you to feel comfortable in this process, so when you're ready to do it again, you know the questions to ask."

Monique Quarterman, executive director of KCV, is passionate about equipping the next generation of ecosystem builders in innovation, commercialization and translational research, Kincaid added.

"This is a big step for KCV to do just that," she said.

Pilot program participants may qualify for a $1,000 stipend upon completing the program. KCV anticipates there will be a fall cohort for the Innovation Fellowship program. More details about eligibility can be found here.