Regina Garcia
The National Science Foundation, through a newly-established $20 million program, will provide a number of institutions with training and networking support to encourage inclusivity and expand its regional innovation ecosystems.
The Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity or EPIIC initiative will target minority-serving institutions, two-year institutions and primarily undergraduate institutions to participate in virtual and in-person events to form collaborations on the development of approaches to enhance their respective capacities to engage in cross-sector partnerships, NSF said Thursday.
The participants will focus on strategies for workforce development, research and development as well as research-results-to-practice transition. Various areas such as advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, and semiconductors and microelectronics will be covered.
“This program will build capacity for innovation partnerships across the country and create opportunities for more inclusive participation in entrepreneurship, startups and other commercialization activities that are vital to the U.S. research and innovation enterprise,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.
Over a three-year period, $400,000 will be allocated for capacity and knowledge building to help participants secure funding and potentially be part of the NSF Regional innovation Engine program.
