The Slater Technology Fund is seeking applicants for its Entrepreneurial Fellows Program. Now entering its fourth year, the program is designed to attract and develop a next generation of entrepreneurs in emerging technology industries by drawing students from the state’s colleges and universities into active participation in the process of venture development. Interested candidates can download the application at http://www.slaterfund.com/about/entrepreneurial-fellows-program. Applications are due February 29, 2012.
Funded as part of Rhode Island’s award from the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR), the Entrepreneurial Fellows Program provides fellowships at the Slater Technology Fund for graduate students and undergraduate students in their final year at institutions of higher education throughout the state. Eligible institutions include the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, Bryant University, the Community College of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, the Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University.
Participants in the Entrepreneurial Fellows Program engage in venture development by working with both academic researchers and industry professionals to understand the process of start-up formation, the development of business plans, the recruitment of entrepreneurial teams, the raising of early-stage capital, and the implementation of commercialization strategies. The objective of the program is to introduce students to a range of career development options within the field of innovation and entrepreneurship and, ideally, lead to employment opportunities for them once they complete the program.