Written by Pamela Edwards – News at the U
For years, the University of Miami has helped aspiring engineers, architects, and entrepreneurs from all fields develop their design ideas as part of their coursework or capstone projects.
The next step, the ability to bring student-created concepts to market, comes with a $5 million grant from university alumnus Angel Alvarez, founder and chairman of ABB OPTICAL, and his family to create the University Student Startup Accelerator. We got a huge boost from the pledge. Worcester.
The USTAAR program is open to students or student teams from any discipline within the university, and fosters and supports new ideas from inception to implementation.
Motivated by his own experience as a successful entrepreneur, Alvarez and his brother Victor seek to galvanize student entrepreneurs and help them turn their fantasies into real-life ventures. “Our vision is to be a catalyst for students to understand how they can change the world,” Angel Alvarez explained.
The gift to create USTAAR is part of the university's Ever Brighter: The Campaign for Our Next Century. The $2.5 billion campaign, the most ambitious in the university's history, is scheduled to end in 2025, when the university celebrates its 100th anniversary.
A portion of the Alvarez family's gift will provide seed funding to 20 student-led teams each year during the commitment period. These grants, awarded through a competitive process, allow teams to advance their ideas from concept to prototype, minimum viable product (MVP), and feasibility testing.
From there, an annual “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition determines five finalists who build the MVP into their product, build intellectual property, refine their business plan, and prepare a presentation to investors. Receive further funding to receive guidance to: The goal is for these five teams to progress to startups and enter the market within three years from the start.
The pitch competition is central to USTAAR's broader efforts to foster student innovation and entrepreneurship across the university. A startup studio within the School of Engineering will provide paid full-time summer employment to students developing products for local industry. including scholarships for underrepresented minority student entrepreneurs and high-impact interdisciplinary training programs focused on various aspects of entrepreneurship, such as prototyping and intellectual property. A powerful set of related activities and resources further strengthens the university's foundations. The next century of student entrepreneurs and startup creation.
Suhrud Rajguru is the director of USTAAR and one of its most passionate champions.
As a professor of biomedical engineering and otorhinolaryngology, Rajguru has overseen dozens of senior design projects in the College of Engineering. As Assistant Vice President for Research Talent Development, he is part of a team that matches researchers and scholars with the funding, collaborators, and tools they need to succeed. And as a successful entrepreneur, he knows from his first-hand experience how important early mentoring and financial support is.
“Any startup knows that the initial investment is the most important thing to get off the ground,” Rajguru says. “The majority of startups fail because they don't know where to get it.” Until we created the Riser Award, there were no programs that supported students at the $20,000 to $100,000 level.”
At the School of Engineering, Rajguru is already working with student teams whose design concepts show commercial promise. His recent senior design projects produced several notable ideas, including one from his two teams that won Rothberg his Catalyzer Award.
Timothy Alkali, a graduate student in the joint BS/MS program in biomedical engineering (BME), and Joseph Cherubin, a senior BME major, developed HemoFix, an automatic tourniquet that anyone can use in an emergency.
Traditional manual tourniquets require considerable strength to function properly and have a high failure rate. Surgical tourniquets are expensive and immobile. Arcari and Cherubin's portable smart tourniquets feature compressed air cartridges, allowing anyone of any age or fitness level to stop bleeding in an emergency. They got the idea from students at the Miller School who identified the problem. Their goal is simple: save as many lives as possible.
Arcari and Cherubin were able to refine and test their prototype, refine their business model, participate in competitions such as eMerge Americas, and move their concept toward marketability thanks to Rajguru, other faculty, their leadership team, and We are truly grateful for the support of the university's donors. “We are extremely grateful for all the resources UM has provided us and look forward to seeing how far we can take this valuable product to fruition in the coming years,” he said.
Another team of students, Joy Jackson, Kailyn Nuñez, and Erin Ravindran, all 2023 BME graduates, created the PrepAir Patch, a non-invasive and minimal method to detect breathing rates in premature infants in neonatal intensive care units. . “As a student entrepreneur, having the guidance of professors and faculty is an incredible asset,” Ravindran said. “This support gives us the flexibility to think beyond financial limitations. The advanced design class and exhibition were valuable experiences in learning what it means to be an innovator from start to finish. Ta.”
USTAAR extends these opportunities to every corner of the university, allowing students to use their learning and creativity to devise marketable products that make a difference beyond campus.
“This program provides foundational training, mentorship and financial support for idea development and commercialization, with the goal of creating 'Canes-led startups that bring products to market,'” Rajguru said. said. “This program is open to all students and trainees at the university. The goal is for these student-led startup companies to foster social and economic development in South Florida and the rest of the world.”
Collaborating to oversee this interdisciplinary student startup accelerator are the Office of the Vice President for Research and Scholarship and the Faculty of Engineering, which has expertise in the Office of Technology Transfer, University Innovation, and other strategic areas of the university. .
“Imagine a future where students' great ideas not only spark innovation, but also lead to real-world solutions that improve lives and industry,” said Guillermo “Willy, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.” ” said Prado. “This gift furthers that vision by bridging the gap between academic research and commercialization. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we will enable our students to create limitless creations with expert guidance.” We are empowering them to reach their full potential and help them become the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs.”
Rajguru enthusiastically agreed. “The University of Miami has incredible students who are extremely talented and generate great ideas. This gift is completely transformative, making the university a destination for student entrepreneurs, and at the same time providing great value to South Florida and the rest of the world.” It will generate impact and social benefits.”
Applications for USTAAR 2024 Seed Funding are open to all current University of Miami students until March 1, 2024. Additional information and application forms are available here.
This article was originally published by the University of Miami and is republished here with permission.
Read more on Refresh Miami:
