Faculty Grants

Open to all Cockrell School of Engineering and College of Natural Sciences faculty and researchers, Innovation Grants are intended to assess and develop UT Austin technology with a high chance of being commercialized.

Awardees are provided funding and access to Texas Innovation Center’s Startup-In-A-Box and Friends of TxIC Network to help move forward their startup formation and launch endeavor.

The scope of use for the grant must be completed within six months, with any unused funds returning to the Innovation Grant program. Awardees may apply for a one-time 6-month extension per grant as needed.

*Applicants may apply for an Innovation Grant each semester and only hold one active grant.

The Innovation Grant funds are for direct project costs. A partial list of allowed uses includes:

  • Make, test, or demo prototypes
  • Register and travel to a conference or meet with customers & investors
  • Validate market and pricing models
  • Assess customer demand
  • Graduate student support (partial use of grant funds allowed)

*Grants may not be used for basic, fundamental, or exploratory research, fund the general operation of a research lab, for journal publications, the cost to secure or protect IP, or for faculty salary.

Application materials include:

  • Basic pitch deck (10 to 12 slides)
  • Single-page concept paper
  • Budget and budget justification
  • Letter of Support

The letter of support must come from a subject matter expert that is external to UT that can provide a scope of impact for the proposed project and describe the impact of the technology on society and the economy.

The budget must detail the project expenditures and explain why it is required to complete and achieve milestones.

The concept paper (single-page, 11 pt. font, 1-inch margin) should include:

  • Project title & PI name
  • Proposed project overview
  • Description of methodologies and key personnel
  • Justification for support
  • Background putting research and innovation into perspective

The pitch deck must include the following slides or a combination of slides:

  • Title Slide
  • Problem/Unmet Need
  • Solution
  • Solution Delivery/Product – product and how it works
  • Market Size (TAM, SAM, SOM)
  • Competitive Advantage and Matrix
  • Market/Go-To-Market Strategy – proof that users love your product
  • Business Model – how you make money
  • Financials – plan going forward, hires, cost of things
  • Team – members, background, contributions to project success
  • The Ask – what will you accomplish with the Innovation Grant

Eligibility:

  • College of Natural Sciences or Cockrell School of Engineering faculty or researcher with principal investigator status
  • UT Intellectual property:
    • An invention disclosure related to the application subject matter was submitted at least 45 days prior to the submission date of this application
    • OR a UT provisional patent related to the application subject matter
    • OR a UT issued patent related to the application subject matter

View or download more information about Innovation Grants here.

Apply for an Innovation Grant