The University of Virginia is committed to transforming discoveries in the laboratory into solutions for the world. Whether as a faculty member, a research staff, or a graduate researcher, UVA Innovates and UVA’s broader innovation ecosystem is there to provide the support you need to transform ideas into impact.
Innovation at UVA transcends traditional boundaries. Whether you work in Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Education, or any other school or lab, you are part of an interconnected web of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. The Enterprise Studio stands as the beating heart of this ecosystem for researchers, but the pulse of innovation runs through every school, every department, and every corner of UVA.
The Enterprise Studio: Your Front-Door to Translating Discoveries into Solutions
The Enterprise Studio is your gateway to an array of services for those considering pathways to commercialize their UVA-based ideas and inventions. We are here to help you achieve real world impact for your research. Our combined entrepreneurial expertise helps make the process of bringing solutions to the world simpler and more accessible. Our mandate is to serve the interests of inventor researchers; we are not here to assess your idea, but to serve as a steward and guide.
- We are a thought partner as you evaluate whether commercialization is the right pathway for your idea, and a guide to help you navigate through the UVA network of commercialization services and resources.
- We help you assess various pathways, including licensing your tech to a company, starting your own company, or forming a non-profit to advance your solutions.
- We connect you to solutions to common commercialization hurdles—lack of time and resources, uncertainty in the process, and entrepreneurial skill building.
UVA: A Connected Ecosystem of Innovators
The Enterprise Studio can help connect you with a vast array of support at UVA and beyond:
- Licensing & Ventures Group (LVG). The Enterprise Studio is housed in UVA’s technology transfer office, LVG. LVG provides a variety of services including help navigating the legal and patenting process to protect ideas developed at UVA and help connecting and promoting innovations to partners and industry. In addition, LVG runs:
- UVA Seed Fund. The LVG Seed Fund supports new ventures emerging from the UVA research portfolio. Managed by the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group, the $10 million LVG Seed Fund is uniquely positioned to assess new ventures created from UVA research ideas and discoveries. The investment team works closely with the licensing professionals to identify opportunities and is governed by an oversight committee comprised of leaders in early-stage investing and startup development who are all UVA alumni.
- I-Corps Program. The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) is an immersive program for University researchers translating discoveries and inventions into impact. Researchers see their technologies through an entrepreneurial lens and build the framework to accelerate the economic and societal benefits of their work.
- Translational Research Funds. UVA has several funding sources for research that helps translate discoveries into implementable solutions in the world. In the case of the life-sciences, this frequently entails moving research towards human trials and patient care. Examples include the Coulter Fund (Biomedical Engineering) and the Ivy Innovation Fund (Biomedical).
- Commonwealth BioAccelerator. A partnership between UVA Innovates and the CvilleBioHub, the BioAccelerator is the region’s first wet lab accelerator at UVA’s North Fork Discovery Park. The BioAccelerator accepts life-science ventures into a 12-month accelerator program providing space, lab equipment, mentorship and networking.
- Local Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs). Charlottesville and the broader region is a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem. Local ESOs include the CODE Building and Venture Central who oversees the 434 Incubator.
