Registration for the AgTech Cohort is open!
More information and apply:
https://greatlakesicorps.org/event/agtech-icorps-summer26/
June 10 - July 29, 2026
Class sessions on Wednesdays, at 12pm CT
Registration deadline: June 3
Free, Virtual Cohort
Open to all Midwest innovators with an agricultural innovation
AgTech I-Corps, hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Iowa State University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, provides a set of skills and entrepreneurial knowledge that can help innovators transform their research into impact.
It uses the Lean LaunchPad method to give participants a working knowledge of how to think about their innovation ideas from a business and customer perspective, as well as how to conduct customer discovery interviews, the first step in any commercialization process.
This free, online course is for faculty, researchers, postdocs, and students interested in practicing and honing their innovation skills. It is open to non-university participants as well. This cohort is designed specifically for those with an agricultural innovation.
Benefits of the Program
* Develop best practices for conducting customer discovery and identifying key stakeholders.
* Learn, practice, and hone your innovation skills.
* Improve the odds for commercial success.
* Understand market trends and needs in your ecosystem.
* Expand your network of like-minded peers, instructors, investors, customers, and mentors who are working in the agricultural space.
* Obtain eligibility to apply for $50,000 grant from the National NSF I-Corps team grant (for deep tech, university-affiliated teams) and the Great Lakes I-Corps Hub's Boost program.
* Prepare for applying to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer programs.
Why Should You Join the AgTech Cohort?
* Materials used in the Ag I-CORPS workshops will use agriculture relevant examples.
* The instructors will have agricultural experiences.
* The other teams will have agriculture concepts and may be able to provide peer experience and customer contacts.
More information and apply:
https://greatlakesicorps.org/event/agtech-icorps-summer26/
Questions? Reach out to Nick Alder nalder2@nutechventures.org or Joy Eakin jeakin@nutechventures.org
