Student Founders

The Academy believes that anyone, regardless of major or discipline, can be an innovator! The IDEA courses are designed to help students from across campus build their creative problem solving abilities and use design and innovation mindsets and skills to reframe how they work, approach problems, and collaborate.

All of the courses are highly experiential. This means students learn by doing, collaborate often with their classmates, and are prompted to actively make connections to their own contexts and interests. No previous experience is necessary to participate - all we ask is that students show up with a willingness to learn, try new things, and apply their skills in the real world.

Check out the most current offerings of the Academy's courses.

IDEA201: Innovation Tools & Mindsets (Option to take Asynchronously or Attend In-Person) - Try on the behaviors of a creative problem-solver and leverage the methods and tools of design through a human-centered lens in this highly experiential -- and experimental -- introductory course. You will try on the behaviors and mindsets of a designer and reflect and build upon your own creative agency.

IDEA258U: Special Topics in Innovation; Introduction to UI/UX Design - What does "User Experience" mean? It was a term coined by cognitive psychologist and designer Don Norman in the 1990s on the cusp of the new digital era; however, the field in practice has existed long before that. Unfortunately, due to its over use and misuse, the pure concept of UX has become lost in the weeds and details of all of its components and methods. In this course, we will take a deep look at the true meaning of UX as simply "a user's experience" and what that means for you as both a designer and a user. You will learn about core UX principles and methodologies from both an academic and practical standpoint and be challenged to apply what you learn in classroom workshops and assignments. Finally, you will be asked to think both inside and outside the bounds of technology to find innovative solutions to real world design problems.

IDEA311: Design Your Purpose - What do you want to do once you graduate? What about with your life? These are the big questions we begin to tackle in this course. Use design methods and mindsets to explore your personal and professional development goals and explore potential career paths. Using empathy, brainstorming, and prototyping techniques, you'll imagine potential futures for yourself and test them to see if they are a good fit for you.

IDEA459/659: The Innovation Studio - Students from across performing and visual arts disciplines will collaborate using human-centered design tools and mindsets. Experiments will be devised around themes of relevance, audience engagement, radical collaboration, and creative placemaking for potential implementation in future iterations of the National Orchestral Institute+ Festival. Each student will also conceptualize and prototype an interdisciplinary performance experiment connected to their personal,professional, and creative interests. Students in the graduate version will be expected to conduct additional research and documentation.

Undergraduate Courses

BMGT289A: Social Enterprise: Changing the World through Innovation and Transformative Action - In this course, students will hear from real-life social entrepreneurs, explore current day social issues of sustainability, climate change, leadership, disruptive innovations, and create or blueprint business plans to generate positive social change. This class will focus on innovative thinking skills, personal narratives, and social interaction strategies and plans.

BMGT289E: Entrepreneurial Thinking for Non-Business Majors: How Not to Miss Great Opportunities Your Life Throws at You - In this course, students learn how to analyze the world around them and then notice and define new trends, emerging problems, impending gaps, and how to turn these into exciting opportunities by providing creative solutions. Students will have a chance to not only sharpen their critical thinking skills, but also learn how to take initiative, develop a working solution, identify and resolve conflicts, and be confident and persistent, yet flexible enough to respond to changes. Student teams identify a compelling problem in present day life and then propose a creative solution taking into account possible difficulties in implementation. In addition, students will also be given problems on a much smaller scale and asked to create and present a workable solution. Students will be exposed to how a visionary's mind works and the creative solution process. In addition, students will also learn how entrepreneurial thinking can improve their day-to-day life.

BMGT362: Negotiations - By using a variety of assessment tools, feedback sources, skill-building exercises, and exercise debriefings, this experiential course is designed to enhance students' negotiating self-confidence and improve students' analytical skills, interpersonal skills, creativity and persuasive abilities.

BMGT365: Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity - Studies venture capital and private equity using a combination of cases, lectures and guest speakers. Addresses how venture capitalists provide capital to start-up firms in growing industries and how private equity markets provide capital to help established medium-sized firms (often family businesses) grow and restructure. Focuses on how financial, legal, and economic issues are dealt with in the financial contracts between venture capitalists and their limited partners and between capitalists (or other private equity investors) and the firms in which they invest.

BMGT366: Growth Strategies for Emerging Companies - Offers practical management tools that are needed to build a new venture into a significant enterprise. The competencies, strategies and structures of successful high performance businesses are studied through cases, videos and guest lecturers. Topics include leadership, internal growth strategies, merger, acquisition and franchising.

BMGT461: Entrepreneurship - Process of creating new ventures, including evaluating the entrepreneurial team, the opportunity and the financing requirements. Skills, concepts, mental attitudes and knowledge relevant for starting a new business.

BMGT468R - Fearless Founders: “New Venture Practicum” - This three-credit course is for undergraduate students committed to an idea after validation. Students experiment with business models, revenue streams, and go-to-market strategies. By the end of this course, some startups are securing their first customers and generating revenue, while others are working on a beta or pilot. In the final class, students pitch for seed funding to move their business forward. The course is taught by Le-Marie Thompson.

BMGT468V: Business Models and Methods to Affect Social Change

BMGT468X: Special Topics in Management and Organization; The Value Creation Challenge

BMGT468Y: Special Topics in Management and Organization; Entrepreneurial Capitalism Around the World

BMGT468Z: Special Topics in Management and Organization; Create the Future through Systems Thinking and Design

Graduate Courses

BUSM754: Comparative & Collaborative Negotiation - Increase negotiating self-confidence and improve capacity to achieve win-win solutions to organizational problems. Improve effectiveness at finding creative solutions to conflict.

Undergraduate Courses

ENES140: Discovering New Ventures - Foundations in Entrepreneurship - Students explore dynamic company startup topics by working in teams to design a new venture. This multi-disciplinary course helps students to learn the basic business, strategy, and leadership skills needed to launch new ventures. Topics include learning how to assess the feasibility of a startup venture, as well as how to apply best practices for planning, launching, and managing new companies. Students discuss a wide range of issues of importance and concern to entrepreneurs and learn to recognize opportunities, assess the skills and talents of successful entrepreneurs, and learn models that help them navigate uncertainty. (Scholarship in Practice)

ENES210: Entrepreneurial Opportunity Analysis and Decision-Making in 21st Century Technology Ventures - This multi-disciplinary course helps students learn the principles of entrepreneurial opportunity analysis and decision-making in an increasingly dynamic and technically-inclined society. Emphasis is placed on how aspiring technology entrepreneurs can develop their entrepreneurial perspectives to develop winning entrepreneurial plans for their future ventures.

ENES460: Fundamentals of Technology Start-Up Ventures - Undergraduate course offered online and on-campus helps students learn the processes and skills needed to launch and manage new technology ventures, with a focus on business plan development.

ENES461: Advanced Entrepreneurial Opportunity Analysis in Technology Ventures - Explores the factors that influence entrepreneurial opportunity analysis in technology-based ventures. Uses a cognitive theoretical framework to examine the integration of motivation, emotions and information processing modes to make complex entrepreneurial decisions in technology venture environments.

Graduate Courses

ENES660: Fundamentals of Product Management - Provides a comprehensive survey of product management and its growing role in producing technology-driven products that customers love. Guides students through the product lifecycle and market lifecycle, diving into the competencies needed at each stage. Topics include startup and corporate strategy, product strategy, vision setting and evangelism, development lifecycle approaches based on customer involvement and product stage, the various types of innovation at each stage of the lifecycle, and how the product manager leads the team through it all. Learn the basics of customer discovery, product discovery, product delivery, and the core-context model for managing products through maturity.

ENES662: Innovative Ideas and Concept Development - Enables aspiring entrepreneurs to understand the content, methods, and models for new venture opportunity assessment and analysis. Focuses on how to identify and analyze entrepreneurial opportunities for technology-based ventures by first understanding the personal self and decision-making factors. Explores how to evaluate new venture opportunities and challenges within industries and markets.

ENES663: Strategies for Managing Innovation - Emphasizes how innovative leaders can use strategic management of innovation and technology to enhance firm performance. It helps students to understand the process of technological change; the ways that firms come up with innovations; the strategies that firms use to benefit from innovation; and the process of formulating technology strategy. It provides frameworks for analyzing key aspects of these industries and teaches students how to apply these frameworks.

ENES665: Innovative Thinking - Introduces students to new and powerful tools to boost their creative problem solving skills. Participants re-discover their communication and teaming skills. Students unlock their creativity potential, and explore win-win approaches to define and solve problems of different kinds. Students are also introduced to topics related to intellectual property.

Individual Studies (IVSP) students enjoy broad academic freedom and flexibility to pursue their degrees in ways that best suit their intellectual interests and passions.

• Pursue your dreams! Create your own major!
• Combine courses to design your own unique interdisciplinary major leading to a B.A. or B.S. degree.
• Work under the guidance of your chosen Faculty Mentor and the dedicated IVSP staff.
• Create a major that includes internships, independent research, and/or study abroad.
• Join the vibrant, supportive learning community of IVSP majors!

Under the guidance of a faculty mentor and the IVSP staff, students create their own unique, interdisciplinary majors that approach important issues, questions, and problems from a range of disciplines and perspectives. Investigating and then integrating these perspectives allows students to develop a deeper and more complete understanding of complex subjects.

Individual Studies students also benefit by taking advantage of the limitless opportunities of a large research institution (labs, independent studies with faculty, service projects, leadership in student organizations, internships, study abroad programs, and more) and our proximity to Washington, D.C., the home preeminent government, cultural, research, and international business institutions. The opportunities for self-directed learning both in and out of the classroom abound.

Through IVSP, students are empowered to build a curriculum that pulls together exceptional courses and opportunities from all across the university that are relevant to their interests. This process not only helps students build a unique set of interdisciplinary insights, but also demonstrates clear independence and maturity, while preparing them to pursue their personal and professional goals with confidence, credentials, advanced knowledge, and tested skills.

Undergraduate

PLCY213: Foundations of Nonprofit Leadership and Social Innovation - Through discussions of contemporary trends, challenges and issues, this course provides an introduction to the nonprofit and NGO sectors, social innovation, and the leadership and management skills required to achieve social impact. The course will explore the history, theories, and roles of philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and social innovation in societies and cultures. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the process and principles of social entrepreneurship and social innovation. Additionally, the course will introduce students to topics in leadership, social innovation, resource development, community mobilization through networks, the role of policy-making in creating change, project management, and overall strategies for achieving social impact. The course will include mini hands-on learning experiences that allow them to apply key learning outcomes.

PLCY214: Leading and Investing in Social Change: Re-defining and Experimenting with Philanthropy - Defines philanthropy as an exploration of how one develops a vision of the public good and then deploys resources (including donations, volunteers, and voluntary associations) to achieve an impact.

PLCY310: Nonprofit Leadership and Social Innovation in Action - Furthers students understanding of topics in leadership, social innovation, resource development, community mobilization through networks, and the role of policy making in creating change. This course will further students understanding of the creation and leadership of nonprofits, social ventures, governance and boards; strategic planning and partnerships; advocacy and public policy processes; community outreach; working in teams, effective communications, and cross-sector approaches to scaling up social impact.

PLCY311: Women in Leadership - Examines the role of women in the leadership process including the participation of women as activists, voters, advocates, public leaders and as agents of change through various avenues including, among others, public service (elected and appointed), the media, community service, political organizations, and the nonprofit sector.

PLCY380: Innovation and Social Change: Do Good Now - Introduces students to the concept of social innovation while exploring the many mechanisms for achieving social impact. It is team-based, highly interactive and dynamic, and provides an opportunity for students to generate solutions to a wide range of problems facing many communities today. Deepens the students understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation practices by guiding them through the creation and implementation process as applied to a project idea of their choice.

Graduate

PLCY698D: Selected Topics in Public Affairs; Social Entrepreneurship - Focuses on creating and building a successful social enterprise.  Features recorded interviews with recognized social entrepreneurs who have received global awards for building such organizations and lectures on such aspects as defining the social issue to be resolved, strategic planning, connecting with the impact target, fundraising (or revenue creating), establishing governance and advisory boards, building an effective management team, staff and interns, and managing time. Students write a short plan for a social enterprise.

Do Good Ambassadors is an initiative that engages passionate, inspired, and innovative Terps more deeply with UMD's Do Good campus.

iSchool iConsultancy Experiential Learning Program - The College of Information Studies (iSchool) partners with industry, government, and communities to execute technology-based projects. From analytics to website design, our students tackle these challenges to provide a product you can use.

Peer Innovation Coaches are undergraduate students who learn how to apply and experiment with innovation tools and mindsets - for themselves and with others - to create change in meaningful ways.

Consult Your Community (CYC) provides businesses with pro bono consultative services as part of a semester-long engagement where top students utilize their skills to provide research, analysis, and recommendations.

Hack4Impact-UMD is a student organization founded in Fall 2020 at UMD. The club focuses on using tech skills for helping the community while introducing students to a professional working environment and other post-graduation options compared to industry and academia.

UMD American Marketing Association’s (AMA) RedBlack Consulting is a student-operated consulting agency which connects creative and passionate marketing students with local companies/nonprofits/organizations in the Greater College Park area.

Do Good Accelerator Fellows is a semester-long program, during the fall, spring and summer semesters, to support students transform ideas into impact. This fellowship program provides students the space, resources, and opportunities to explore, test, or scale up their idea, project, or venture. Each week, students spend time participating in 1:1 coaching sessions with field experts, engaging in workshops that provide insights to valuable tools and resources, and immersing themselves in group activities with their peers who are also tackling a variety of social issues.

Do Good Impact Interns program is a professional development and leadership program that connects Do Good students to paid social impact-based internship opportunities with alumni organizations and partners of the Do Good Institute.

Dugal Impact Fellowship is a program that provides a stipend for two undergraduate students to spend their summers interning at early-stage social enterprises.

Federal Fellows Program combines a fall seminar course taught by industry experts with a spring internship in the D.C. metropolitan area. Throughout the year, fellows are supported with professional development workshops, one-on-one resume and interview reviews, and federally-related events. The program's mission is to prepare talented and diverse undergraduate students to excel in professional internships and to pursue careers of influence and impact, especially in the public sector.

Global Fellows in Washington, D.C. is an innovative fellowship program designed to equip University of Maryland undergraduate students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experience necessary to become leaders in our increasingly globalized society.

Global Consulting Fellows complements any undergraduate major by providing consulting job opportunities beyond the traditional classroom and enhancing hard and soft skills and global business savvy needed to compete in a global job market.

Graduate Innovation Fellows are graduate students who learn how to actively apply and experiment with innovation tools and mindsets - for themselves and with others - to create change in meaningful ways.

Kathryn Stewart Fellowship is an internship program designed for undergraduate students who are interested in entrepreneurship and want to intern at a startup for the summer.

Maryland Marketing Internship Program is offered through the Center for Global Business. Students are matched with a small to midsize enterprise internationalizing their business, and students gain professional experience through this internship.

Rawlings Undergraduate Leadership Fellows Program honors the legacy of Howard Peters "Pete" Rawlings and his decades of public service in the Maryland House of Delegates. The Rawlings Program provides students the opportunity to champion causes they are passionate about and advocate for those in the community that are underserved and marginalized. Combining mentorship, engagement with expert faculty and public leaders, and hands-on experiences working in the community, the Rawlings Program realizes your commitment to ethical leadership and public service. 

Terp Startup Fellows program is the Dingman Center’s effort to accelerate the most promising student startups. Building on the success of the Terp Startup Accelerator, the recipients of this prestigious fellowship are founders who have demonstrated strong commitment to their ventures and the ability to innovate as they push towards commercialization.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Minor equips students with the knowledge and skills to ramp up their own businesses, as well as to innovate and think creatively about problem-solving and strategy.

Minor in Technology Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation prepares students for launching successful technology ventures and bringing life-changing products and services to market.

Nonprofit and Social Innovation Minor provides hands-on learning to enhance your knowledge of local, national and global issues. Students will examine different approaches to social impact and study the role of the nonprofit, non-governmental and social sectors, in addition to social innovation, leadership and nonprofit management skills. Students study the role of the nonprofit, NGO, and social sector, as well as social innovation, leadership, and the skills required for effective nonprofit management. 

Public Leadership Minor explores the complex issues that face leaders around the world. Students will be empowered to think critically about the solutions needed for a range of pressing problems, examining such issues as democratization and human rights, crime and punishment, diversity and affirmative action, and poverty and inequality. In addition to exploring the issues, you will engage in critical questions and learning about leadership for the public good and effective citizenship.

Science, Technology, Ethics and Policy (STEP) Minor is an interdisciplinary program sponsored by the School of Public Policy, the College of Information Studies, and the A. James Clark School of Engineering. It offers students the knowledge and analytical skills to understand and assess the complex interactions among science, technology, ethics and policy. Students in the minor explore the ways that scientific practice and technological development are embedded in social, cultural, humanistic and political systems. These connections help students see the variety of ways science and technology can be governed, designed and implemented to optimize the needs of society. Gain an increased sensitivity to ethical issues related to data analytics, artificial intelligence, automated systems, synthetic biology, climate engineering, energy development, physical and communication infrastructure.

Sustainability Studies Minor, hosted in partnership with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, examines the complexities and conflicts in meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same by minoring in Sustainability. Students will grapple with an evolving area of inquiry that is gaining increasing interest from businesses, government agencies and non-governmental organizations around the world, and enhance your ability to critically think and advance solutions to issues that impact the environment, the economy and social equity.

Business, Society and the Economy (BSE) is a living-learning program of the University's College Park Scholars. BSE is committed to developing students’ entrepreneurial mindset, and it explores the world of commerce and teaches students the fundamentals of business today. With a rise in globalization has come a rise in competition. To succeed in this environment, both businesses and individuals must embrace innovation and entrepreneurship.

Design Cultures & Creativity (DCC) is offered through the University Honors College. It fosters an open, collaborative, and social environment that encourages students to explore relationships between design, society, and creative practices. DCC students are passionate about emerging technologies and their impact on the world, and even more importantly, how their designs can make our worlds a better place for humans and all other living things to thrive. DCC students are innovative thinkers and makers who engage in research and collaborative projects on topics that engage issues pertaining to identity, connectivity, social justice, art, design, and all things creative in an era when digital media links us on a scale unprecedented in human history.

Hinman CEOs Program enables undergraduates to develop innovative startup ideas into real companies through an immersive one-year academic and residential experience.

iGive is a living-learning program in the University's Carillon Communities. iGive explores a big question that matters to our world - how can you use philanthropy, innovation and social change for good? Spend your freshman year with a group of like-minded students as you identify a social cause you share a passion for and then develop and practice leadership skills as you support a local nonprofit organization.

Public Leadership Program is living-learning program of the University's College Park Scholars. Public Leadership explores the theory and practice of leadership, empowering students to become social change agents through hands-on public service projects and examination of pressing social, political and economic issues.

QUEST Honors Program is a selective University Honors College program at the University of Maryland that brings together the top undergraduates in business, engineering, and science to complete team-based, experiential projects.

Southern Management Leadership Program (SMLP) is a scholarship initiative targeted to students who have an interest in entrepreneurship and want to become ethical leaders who want to energize and give back to their local communities.

Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship empowers University of Maryland students and faculty to become creative problem solvers by engaging them in innovation tools and mindsets.

Center for Social Value Creation (CSVC) embodies a passionate mission: to educate, engage and empower the Smith community and the world through thought-provoking dialogue, thought leadership, and hands-on experience.

Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship develops and executes curricular and non-curricular programs that leverage Smith School thought leadership, experiential learning and our mentor network to provide resources to the UMD startup community.

Do Good Institute (DGI) serves as the catalyst to transform the University of Maryland into the nation’s first Do Good Campus, where students are inspired to take action and spur innovations and solutions that tackle today’s social issues.

Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets investigates free enterprise and markets by researching what makes individuals, organizations and economies flourish, helping thought leaders to solve real world challenges.

Mid-Atlantic Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) aims to serve as the connective tissue that links programs, services, and resources throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, striving to create a comprehensive network of support opportunities for service members, veterans, military retirees, military/veteran spouses & dependents, National Guard members, reservists, and otherwise military-connected entrepreneurs.

Do Good Accelerator is a collaborative space on campus that supports and helps to scale up students' innovative solutions to our world's most pressing challenges.

Hatchery provides seed funding, working space, mentoring and networking opportunities to student enTERPreneurs who want to turn their startups into viable, sustainable ventures.

Immersive Media Design New Works Incubator launched in the summer of 2021 gives students across the University of Maryland campus the opportunity to create and present original works of immersive media. The incubator enables student creators to explore new areas of immersive media and create works based on their own interests and initiatives. This incubator is only offered in the summer.

Maryland Smith Blockchain Accelerator is led by the Supply Chain Management Center and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, which merges the university’s best capabilities in computer science, engineering and business.This accelerator will help early-stage companies from around the country access content and mentorship to systematically advance their businesses. Entirely virtual, the accelerator will leverage the FounderTrac platform. The 45-day program culminates in a Demo Day where participating companies will have an opportunity to pitch to investors.

Mtech Ventures is a University of Maryland incubator for technology-based innovations commercialized at the university. Mtech Ventures helps early-stage startups survive the critical period in their development between conducting customer discovery and raising their first round of venture capital. The Mtech Ventures facility offers affordable space and hands-on mentoring for early stage companies.

Scale Your Impact is an advanced, year-long mentorship and project development program through the Do Good Institute for current and alumni Terps. The signature program provides customized support that focuses on effective partnership cultivation and development, fundraising strategy, and impact measurement to University of Maryland students and alumni looking to extend their reach and create a larger social impact. Scale Your Impact is seeking groups who have already begun implementation, have had success to date, and are ready to scale. Each year, up to three projects or organizations demonstrating significant impact and innovation will be selected to participate and will receive support that will assist in the advancement of their project or organization, as outlined below. Applications are accepted January through November. The program begins in December and runs through the following December.

Startup Shell is the student-run coworking space and incubator at the University of Maryland. We foster entrepreneurship through collaboration.

Terp Startup Accelerator is a summer program that helps student entrepreneurs make progress on their startup for eight weeks in the summer in lieu of an internship.

UMD I-Corps - The program provides real world training on how to incorporate innovations into commercially viable companies to solve societal problems. The curriculum is based on the Lean Startup framework through which researchers can better understand the market potential of an innovation. Participating in an introductory I-Corps Course is a required component of commercializing technology at the University of Maryland.

VBOC Boots to Business (B2B) is an entrepreneurial education and training program offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP). The VBOC encourages TAP-eligible and active duty personnel, military spouses, veterans and civilians with base access to attend this free 2-day introduction to entrepreneurship training class covering topics you need to consider before and as you start your business.

Bitcamp is the University of Maryland's premier hackathon, bringing together over 1,400 students, making it the largest collegiate hackathon on the East Coast.

Info Challenge Initiative - This annual week-long challenge provides an opportunity for college students to compete in solving real-world problems in the areas of data analytics, security, and design – using projects provided by partner organizations.

PLACEHack is a 24-hour undergraduate hackathon that challenges students to devise cultural, environmental and built solutions to existing place-based problems in College Park to create engaging, inclusive spaces.

Technica is the world’s largest hackathon for underrepresented genders, hosted annually by students at the University of Maryland.

Terps Makeathon is an annual design hackathon held at the University of Maryland.

Architecture, Planning & Preservation Department Fabrication Lab (Fablab) specializes in model-making. The space is outfitted with digital and analog equipment to help students build projects from topographical site plans, for their thesis presentation pieces and everything in between.

BookLab is a dedicated space for the study of the codex book in all of its material, historical, cultural, and imaginative diversity. It is a makerspace, a studio, a library, and a community press.

Makerspace Initiative (MSI) is a consortium of 25+ makerspaces from different departments and units across campus, with the common goal of helping each other provide the best experience possible for students, faculty, and staff.

Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture also known as "The Collaboratory" teaches and encourages use of digital methods, platforms, and tools, such as photogrammetry, AR, VR, RTI, and 3-D modeling and printing.

Singh Sandbox is a makerspace that provides all UMD students with facilities and a community focused on exploring iterative design, fabrication (i.e. “making”), and peer education.

STEM Library features the Augmented Reality Sandbox and other emerging technologies dedicated to innovation, instruction, and research.

Terrapin Works is a collection of rapid prototyping, advanced manufacturing, and digital design resources provided as a service to the campus and surrounding community. Below are some of the various Terrapin Works makerspaces.

• Advanced Fabrication Lab is comprised of 3 distinct spaces within A. James Clark Hall; each fulfilling a different purpose in our rapid prototyping workflow. The Design Studio (2123) supports scanning and CAD prototyping using high power workstations, the Mechanical Prototyping Room (2130) supports advanced manufacturing technologies, and the Electrical Prototyping Room (2231) supports custom PCB fabrication and other electronics work.
• Design Shop is home to the Terrapin Works Design Team and Software Team.  This a place for the Design and Software Team members to collaborate and work.  The primary design work activities include Research, Ideation, Computer-Aided Design, Rapid Prototyping, and Testing.
• Instructional Electronics Shop is an open access electronics shop that is free for all students and researchers. The lab provides basic electronics equipment and tools to help the campus community complete their electronics projects. We have oscilloscopes, DC power supplies, waveform generators, soldering supplies, multimeters, consumables, and many tools spread over our four workbenches. Workbenches can be reserved using our reservation calendar.
• Keystone Woodshop is largely focused providing a space with high quality wood working equipment for training and use by students, conveniently located on the first floor of JM Patterson. The woodshop is an open access training shop at Terrapin Works, and it features state of the art equipment from Powermatic, Festool, and SawStop.
• Leidos Innovation Lab is located on the first floor in A. James Clark Hall and provides 6,800 square feet of space for students to work together on cross-disciplinary research and designs, and features overhead utilities, digital displays and movable workbenches, creating an ideal environment for collaboration.
• MakerBot Innovation Center is a centralized, scalable 3D printing space that empowers everyone to invent, innovate, iterate, and replicate.
• Research Prototyping Lab is home to Terrapin Works most advanced additive manufacturing equipment. The equipment in the Research Prototyping Lab is capable of realizing extremely high part detail & durability. The primary machines are the ProX, Nanoscribe, and Fuse 1.

Terp Farmer's Market is an opportunity for selected producer-only local vendors from within 250 miles of College Park to sell their produce. Every farmer and producer selling at this market must grow or make what they sell themselves. To apply to be a vendor, one must complete and submit the Vendor Agreement and meet all stated criteria.

Terp Marketplace is an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to test the market and sell their products or services to the UMD community. The Dingman Center will provide UMD student entrepreneurs with a table, chair, and tablecloth. Vendors bring their products, marketing materials, a sign with your name/logo and anything else to spruce up your table. Current UMD students are invited to sell their products at the event. Participation is free and is open to all current UMD students. UMD/Terp-themed merchandise must be properly licensed.

Do Good Challenge is an annual pitch competition which inspires students to make a difference for the issues, ideas, and communities they care about.

Gold Public Health Innovation Award is the University of Maryland’s first award competition given to a team or individual for a creative solution to one of the world’s most complex public health issues. Launched in 2017 by Dr. Robert S. Gold (School of Public Health founding dean) and Barbara A. Gold and held annually, students can compete for up to $5,000 in start-up funding. Top student entrepreneurs deliver pitches to a panel of five thought leaders and health entrepreneurs who select the winner(s) each spring. Undergraduate and graduate students in the UMD School of Public Health are eligible to apply.

Pitch Dingman Competition is an annual business competition where University of Maryland students can compete for more than $80,000 in non-dilutive funding.

U21/PwC Innovation Challenge (2022) is a multidisciplinary competition open to Master's and PhD students from all fields of study. Universitas 21 and PwC are two globally focused organizations who have come together to offer this exclusive opportunity to U21's graduate student community.

Dingman Center E-Funding (Less Than $1,000) - The Dingman Center can provide ad-hoc seed funding for University of Maryland startups. Grants range from $250-$1000. Funding typically goes towards equipment purchases, website hosting, rapid prototyping, incorporation fees or any other costs that you see a barrier to getting an idea to market. This funding is given in the form of non-dilutive grants. If you are interested in receiving funding, read the requirements and complete an application form.

Dingman Center Seed Funding ($5,000+) - Currently enrolled and matriculating student entrepreneurs are eligible to participate in the Dingman Center's Terp Startup Accelerator, where student entrepreneurs can receive a stipend of up to $5,000 to work on their business for eight weeks over the summer. Additionally, student entrepreneurs who advance in our Pitch Dingman Competition may compete for a share of $80,000 in total funding. All funding is non-dilutive.

Do Good Mini-Grants provide funding for the development and implementation of student-led, student-run proposals that aim to create a positive social or environmental impact. Receive up to $500 to support your project or venture!

Sustainability Fund provides more than $300,000 annually for projects that improve environmental performance of campus operations, create opportunities for UMD students to learn about and develop skills for sustainability, and/or involve research that meets the Fund criteria.

USM Launch Fund connects early stage entrepreneurs — builders, creators, and innovators — to existing resources, mentorship, and capital. This capital is flexible and early, in the form of grants (non-dilutive) and investments (dilutive) ranging from less than $2,000 microgrants to grants and investments of generally up to $50,000. This small, early capital is currently a key gap experienced by many individuals getting started and on their way with a venture. This critical foundational capital (including pre-venture funding, first money in, and pre-seed funding) bridges to next-step capital (including revenue/sustainability, bank financing, and seed funding).

Contrary Capital is a decentralized venture firm that invests in university-affiliated startups.

Dingman Center Angels (DCA) is a Maryland-based angel investment group that provides funding to early-stage companies primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Dorm Room Fund - Dorm Room Fund invests in student-run companies incorporated in the US. We do not require you to be raising a round. Our companies range from having an initial idea to existing customer traction. Our standard investment is a $40,000 SAFE. Beyond a $40,000 check, all of our community companies get access to a suite of resources, our founder community and investor network, and support services from our investment partners and HQ team members.

Dingman Center Mentor Network is the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship’s initiative to connect it's network of successful entrepreneurs and professionals to it's top student entrepreneurs.

Dingman Fridays are advising sessions held on Fridays during the fall and spring semesters and are open to all UMD students between 11:00am to 1:00pm. Experienced entrepreneurs are available to provide actionable feedback on your business idea.

Dingman Legal Advisors - Meet with a Dingman legal advisor to receive free legal advice for your startup. Suggested for only after one has a minimum viable product. Sign up online for a 30-minute appointment.

Do Good Tune-Up Tuesday - The Do Good Institute offers virtual coaching and advising, which is open to current UMD students to inspire action and empower impact. Current students engaged in classes, teams, organizations, and projects that place an emphasis on social impact or innovation are eligible to receive support via Tune Up Tuesdays during the semester from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Terrapins Connect is an Alumni Association platform that connects students and alumni alike with meaningful online networking opportunities. Through one-on-one conversations, group discussion boards, formal mentoring programs and events, Terrapins Connect is where Terps seeking professional development opportunities and career success meet.

University Career Center & The President's Promise - The Career Center offers many resources for students seeking support throughout their career journey.

• Building Your Network - Professional Networking, along with your academic performance and your extracurricular activities, is one of the most important steps to career development. It will help you build a set of relationships that will support you throughout your career. It’s best to build your network before you need a job.
• Careers4Terps (C4T) is an online career management platform for all UMD students looking for internships, jobs, and employment opportunities.
• Internships - Learn what you need to know to find an internship.
• Interviewing - Learn the necessary skills for participating in a successful interview.
• Resume Reviews - Enroll in the University Career Center’s asynchronous online Resume Basics module and take 20 minutes to watch videos with helpful tips on resume writing and formatting, view resume samples, and download resume templates to plug in your information. The Resume Basics module will get you on the right track!
• Terp Guide 2022 - This comprehensive pdf offers pertinent information and resources for students as they matriculate through college and seek professional employment opportunities.

Virtual Business Information Center (VBIC) is a collection of major commercial full text databases as well as internet websites specifically curated for their unbiased, fact-based authoritative business content.

Entrepreneurship Resources

Starting a New Business

The first step in creating a new business is to come up with a concept or an idea that can be developed into a product, or service or new technology that will satisfy two criteria. First the product or service must solve a problem, meet a need or create a new need in a manner that others have not exploited.  In other words, there must be an opportunity that the entrepreneur can fulfill. Second the product or service must offer a greater value to the consumers than the cost for them to acquire that product or service.

Meeting these two criteria can be a difficult and frustrating process, necessitating a partnership between the entrepreneur and the business librarian who is knowledgeable about the fundamental resources applicable to each step of the startup process. The Plan of Action below lists the questions and steps the entrepreneur needs to consider and provides links to suggested resources that will supply the entrepreneur with some of the data and information needed. Additional survey research, networking and outreach may be necessary to supply other critical information.

Business Startup Plan of Action

1. What is the need to be fulfilled or the problem to be solved?

Entrepreneur's Action: Brainstorming, deliberating, evaluating, analyzing the needs, frustrations, irritations of the entrepreneur and others to determine if a potential business opportunity exists

2. What is the number and characteristics of people with that need?

Entrepreneur's Action: Determine the strength of the need in the market, market size, consumer behavior, attitudes/demographics, and purchasing habits.

Librarian suggestions:  Use Mintel database. Refer to Consumer Analysis topic section for more resources on consumers.

3. Who are or might be competitors in meeting that need?

Entrepreneur's Action: Assess what companies or organizations are likely to compete in meeting the need and what are the strengths, weaknesses, and strategies of those entities. 

Librarian Suggestions: Use Mergent Intellect IBISWorld and Passport to learn about competitors.  Refer to Competitors topic section for more resources on competitors.

4. How will the industry size and structure impact the startup?

Entrepreneur's Action: Evaluate how the size, structure, culture and trends in the industry will impact the startup operations and risks.

Librarian Suggestions: Use IBISWorld, Mergent Intellect and Passport databases to gather information on industry trends, challenges, opportunities and threats.  Refer to Industry Analysis topic section for more resources on industry trends, challenges, opportunities and threats.

Finance and Investment Sources

• Bloomberg

  Contains news, current, and historical financial data and analysis for individual companies, stock market indices, fixed-income securities, currencies, commodities, economics, and derivatives for both international and domestic markets.
  Note: Access available in Van Munching Financial Markets Labs (1318 and 3505 Van Munching Hall) and Smith School DC, Baltimore, and Shady Grove campuses.

• Morningstar

  Morningstar's data and analyst reports cover more than 20,000 securities, including stocks and mutual funds.
  Note: Licensing restrictions limit use to 4 simultaneous users. If you are unable to access this database, please try again later. Screening for stocks and mutual funds available using many different data points.

• ValueLine (ValueLine Investment Survey)

  Provides investment research on stocks, mutual funds, options, and convertibles.

• Mergent Intellect

  Combines Hoover's Online, Key Business Ratios, and D&B Million Dollar Database offering access to private and public U.S. and international business data, industry news, executive contact information, and industry profiles; allows for downloading of data.

• Factiva

  From Dow Jones. Provides full text access to over 8,000 business sources including national and international newspapers, magazines, wire services, web sites, and industry (trade) sources. Includes coverage of the Wall Street Journal.
  Note: Licensing restrictions limit use to 12 simultaneous users. If you are unable to access this database, please try again later.

• Nexis Uni

  Covers business topics from local, regional, and national newspapers, some trade publications, business magazines, SEC filings, some reference sources, key accounting sources, legal information as well as SWOT analysis.
  To find SWOT analysis information:
  1) From 'Search by Content Type' (top right side of screen above search box), click on down arrow to select 'Company Profiles'
  2) Click on 'Advanced Options'
  3) In the 'Build Your Own Segment' search box, enter the company of your choice and the type of publication in the following form (for example): 'Company(Microsoft) and Publication(SWOT)
  4) Click 'Apply'
  5) Click 'Search'
  Note: Does NOT include access to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The WSJ is contained in Factiva (see above) and National Newspapers Core.

The Maryland SBDC is an accredited member of a national network. In addition to our support of small business development, the SBDC is also accredited to provide intellectual property and technology commercialization assistance to businesses in the technology industry.

As a launching pad for small business owners within Maryland's entrepreneurial ecosystem, the SBDC empowers current and aspiring business owners by providing them compassionate, informed, objective, and professional consulting and training; and by connecting them with others throughout our state who can intelligently move their dreams to reality, resulting in successful businesses and greater state and local economic growth.

Among its many services, the SBDC offers small business owners:

• Consulting - Most of the SBDC's professional business consultants have owned or managed successful businesses. Through practical experience and continual professional development, they have the knowledge and insight to help resolve your problems and develop and implement your strategies. You will not only receive sound advice from seasoned staff, but if necessary, referral to industry experts or other specialty business consultants.
• Training - a comprehensive range of training courses and programs. SBDC online courses offer an excellent way to work training into your busy schedule when it's most convenient for you. The face-to-face sessions will not only provide you with invaluable knowledge, but by sharing ideas and issues with entrepreneurs with similar experiences, you will also have the opportunity to establish beneficial professional relationships.
• Business Research Platform - Online listing of research platforms available to anyone starting a business in Maryland.
• Smart Start Assessment - Generates a customized action plan that you can use to begin building your business right away.

• Subscribe to the Academy I&E Newsletter by scrolling to the bottom of the page and adding your email address.
• Subscribe to the Center for Social Value Creation's Here & Now, a bi-weekly newsletter released every other Monday featuring news stories, events, and opportunities, to keep our community connected to the most exciting and relevant impact-related happenings, here at the University of Maryland and beyond.
• Subscribe to the Dingman Center's The Pitch newsletter. The Pitch is the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship's bi-weekly newsletter released every other Tuesday featuring entrepreneurship events, programs and competitions on campus at the University of Maryland and beyond.
• Subscribe to the Do Good Institute Student newsletter
• Subscribe to the Terp Entrepreneur Network monthly newsletter

Bootstrapped is a podcast produced by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship produces which features founders, investors and serial entrepreneurs. While the podcast covers many aspects of startup life, the heart of the show focuses on funding from both the founder and investor perspectives, thus the name Bootstrapped. The podcast is hosted by Holly DeArmond, managing director of the Dingman Center, and Joe Bailey, an associate research professor at the Smith School. Each episode starts with trend stories from the hosts, then moves on to an interview with a special guest. Topics range from fundraising and marketing to team formation and customer acquisition. There are a total of 63 podcasts over 7 seasons.

On The Record with Ambi is a podcast for Merrill College students to learn about different careers by alumnus. The podcast is created and hosted by Merrill alumna, Ambi Narula.

Do Good Institute's The Leadership Exchange speaker series features passionate and innovative nonprofit and social impact leaders who share their diverse perspectives on nonprofit, philanthropic and civic sector challenges and important leadership lessons. Watch videos of previous speakers

Maryland Business: Rebooted is a free online education series for Maryland Residents and Businesses.

TENx UMD EnTERPreneur Talks - Hear from fellow EnTERPreneurs as they share why they launched their ventures, the challenges they experienced and what advice they have for current and aspiring founders.

UM Ventures Startup Fundamental Workshops - These are recordings of previous workshops regarding various startup topics.

Becoming a Design Thinker - In Spring 2023, the Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship will offer a series of workshops focused on the fundamentals of the design thinking process and innovation mindsets and behaviors. Attendees will learn about various design thinking tools and methods and apply them in a hands-on, active learning environment. Prerequisite: None. Open to anyone who's interested, no prior experience required!

UM Ventures Startup Business Fundamentals Workshops is a series of hands-on workshops developed specifically for the UMD campus community to teach them a variety of skills necessary for launching a business venture.

• Future Founders Startup Bootcamp - A free bootcamp designed to help 18- to 30-year-olds turn ideas, passions, and side hustles into functioning businesses, we’ll provide a series of workshops, mentorship opportunities, and peer support to help you launch and grow.
• Innov8MD Accelerator Guide provides a listing of accelerators at various universities, as well as student entrepreneur competitions across the country.
• VentureWell ASPIRE - This accelerator helps seed-stage science-based startups progress from customer discovery programs to commercial launch with the governance, confidence, milestones, and investor network required for your success! During ASPIRE, student innovators work side-by-side with investors in your sector throughout the course of the program to vet your fundraising strategy and build your due diligence deal room. If your company is your full-time focus and you’re ready to raise investment, our founder programs are right for you.
• VentureWell E-Team Program - Supports student ventures as you embark down the path you’re likely to take as an innovator and entrepreneur. We help you advance your invention through a powerful mix of up to $25,000 in grant funding, entrepreneurship training, mentorship by dedicated staff, national recognition, and networking with peers and industry experts.

• Baylor New Venture Competition - This competition is underwritten by an anonymous gift to Baylor University and the Hankamer School of Business. The differentiator between this competition and others is the focus on encouraging student entrepreneurs worldwide to catalyze and grow their business.
• Carnegie Mellon Venture Challenge - Student teams that compete at CMU VC are truly offered a unique value proposition - exposure, funding, and feedback. Early stage companies require significant prototyping funds before a working product can materialize. In order to help teams grow from the experience, the CMU VC aims to objectively reward innovative teams with capital, services, and constructive feedback from experts in a variety of technical and legal domains.
• Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO) Global Pitch Competition - Annual business pitch competition offering $20K in new venture funding.
• Draper Competition for Collegiate Women Entrepreneurs is hosted and organized by the Jill Ker Conway Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Smith College. It is designed to hone the skills that undergraduate women need to advance from idea to venture creation. Through multiple rounds of competition, students demonstrate an understanding of a problem, why the problem requires a new venture to address it, and how their idea presents the best solution to the problem.
• e-Fest Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Competition - The undergraduate start-up world is hugely competitive and often restricted to a few select students from select universities. e-Fest changes that. We believe your venture deserves the opportunity to be showcased on a national stage. That’s why e-Fest offers cash prizes, connections, workshops and media coverage to help young entrepreneurs pursue the next level and inspire the entrepreneurial spirit.
• Heartland Challenge Startup Competition - This competition is designed to mimic the real-world process of raising capital for a high-growth venture. The competition allows Graduate Students to gain valuable experience and networking opportunities, while developing and building new ventures and technologies or those developed by others.  The spirit of the competition is to allow only ventures conceived and developed during the graduate school experience to participate. Competition directors and faculty advisers are responsible for ensuring and attesting that their teams meet these requirements. The teams are also responsible for ensuring their own eligibility.
• Pear Competition - Seeking dedicated entrepreneurs with big ambitions. Winning teams will receive a $100K SAFE (uncapped, no discount). No idea is too early. Apply and receive actionable feedback alongside the opportunity to win $100K and work closely with the Pear team.
• Rice University Business Plan Competition - RBPC gives collegiate entrepreneurs real-world experience to pitch their startups, enhance their business strategy and learn what it takes to launch a successful company. Hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship—which is Rice University's internationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship—and Rice Business. Over 20 years it has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more 2 million in cash and prizes. 
• Shore Hatchery - Perdue School of Business Philip E. & Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation Shore Hatchery is a bi-annual Mid-Atlantic business competition. The Shore Hatchery is open to any Mid-Atlantic business startups. It is a ten-year $2 million initiative, which began in 2013. The program assists entrepreneurs in creating new businesses and jobs in the region. Startups apply for a share of $200,000 annually. The goal of the Shore Hatchery is to reward individuals for their entrepreneurial efforts in the creation and growth of businesses with the potential of positively impacting regional employment within three years.
• TCU Neeley School of Business Values and Ventures® Competition - Invites undergraduate students from around the world to pitch ideas for conscious capitalism ventures that make a profit while also solving a problem. Recycling plants that employ the homeless. Better access to autism treatment. Human-powered farm machines. Real-time organ donor communication. Winners take home thousands of dollars to help make their ideas come true.
• Tulane Business Model Competition - This competition awards funding to early-stage student ventures that can demonstrate how they are adapting to their customers’ needs. The contest rewards founders who are creating commercially viable ventures through breaking down an idea into a key business model hypothesis, who have tested their assumptions with customers and who have applied Customer Development/Lean Startup principles to refine the model for improved success.
• University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business New Venture Championship (NVC) - A business competition that inspires young entrepreneurs to develop their business dreams into a reality. Teams of Graduate Students from around the world join the event every year to pitch their business plans.

• Baltimore Innovation Week is a five-day celebration with multiple independently produced events that are focused on showcasing local companies, highlighting entrepreneurship resources, and bringing together Baltimore’s innovation community.
• Collegiate Biz Launch Week is an opportunity for students at a university to host entrepreneurship events during a selected week of their choosing.
• DC Startup Week (DCSW) is the fastest-growing startup community in the DMV region with over 10,000 entrepreneurs. Once a year, we bring together our expansive community over 5-days to connect, collaborate, share resources and celebrate our thriving ecosystem. Throughout the year, we strengthen our united community by curating inclusive, thought-provoking, and meaningful events and partnerships.
• Global Entrepreneurship Week - is a global celebration of entrepreneurship that occurs in the second week of November.

• Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO) a 501(c)(3) not for profit charitable corporation, founded in 1983, that supports more than 16,500 emerging collegiate entrepreneurs annually. CEO believes that any student, regardless of academic discipline can launch a business. CEO's global network of more than 250 college and university chapters supports and inspires the growth and development of any student that seeks to be entrepreneurial.
• Entrepreneur Futures Network (EFN) - EFN is a national non-profit based in California that is dedicated to helping organizations and individuals tap the power of open entrepreneurial and innovation resources. EFN provides entrepreneurial program development, management and collaboration platforms, and training on several topics including mentoring and coaching, pitching and grant writing. 
• Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) - GSEA is the premier global competition for students who own and operate a business while attending college or university.
• Innov8MD is coalition of over 15 college & university entrepreneurship leaders across the state that provides help ton any college student in Maryland who is launching and growing their startup, small business, or nonprofit.
• VentureWell - Envisions a world in which science and technology innovators have the support, training, and access to networks and resources they need to solve the world’s most difficult problems. At VentureWell, they foster collaboration among the best minds from research labs, classrooms, and beyond to advance innovation and entrepreneurship education and to provide unique opportunities for STEM students and researchers to fully realize their potential to improve the world.

• Ballard Academy for Student Entrepreneurs (BASE) - Ballard Spahr seeks to lessen these burdens for student entrepreneurs by offering pro bono legal assistance on discrete issues facing their potential ventures. Clients accepted into the BASE program will be assigned to Ballard Spahr attorneys who will guide them through the startup process by providing legal assistance, such as advising on corporate governance and structure, negotiating leases, and other corporation formation and contract matters.
• Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization Resources page provides free resources students can access to build a better business, chapter and financial future. This page features legal tools, intellectual property protection, access to Quickbooks and AWS credits, among many other valuable resources.
• Dorm Room Fund - Provides support to student founders by arming them with a powerful investor network, world-class mentors, and capital to help you move faster.
  • Blueprint Investor Track - A 6-week summer program for students who identify as Black, Latinx, and Indigenous and who want to learn what it takes to become venture capital investors.
  • Female Founder Track - A 6-week masterclass designed to help female-identifying founders scale their projects and equip you with the skills to raise your first capital.
  • Female Investor Track - A 6-week masterclass designed to assist female-identifying individuals who are just starting their careers in venture capital to transition into and grow in the industry.
  • PRISM - A 6-week masterclass for LGBTQ+ students interested in venture & startups.
• IDEO Nature Cards - Nature Cards are a collection of cards featuring strategies from the natural world that inspire us with a new mindset as we approach design challenges. Use them to frame your design challenge, evolve your business strategy, brainstorm, teach, or simply to think creatively and holistically with nature in mind. Download a pdf of the Nature Cards here.
• Maryland Entrepreneur Hub - Explore Maryland's entrepreneurship ecosystem, which includes over 2,000 resources to build your business in the state.
• Stanford D.School Tools for Taking Action - Check out these human-centered design and innovation resources from various classes and workshops, which includes activities, tools, and how-tos as a starting point for taking action.
• TechStars Entrepreneur's Toolkit is an online educational resource to help you learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and accelerate your success.
• VentureWell section on What Customer Discovery Approach is Right for You
  • ACCESS is an on-demand program specifically designed for STEM student entrepreneurs who are solving some of the world’s toughest problems with technology and are constantly on the go.  
  • Learning Modules:
    • Customer Discovery
    • Economic Value Creation
    • Intro to Non-Dilutive Funding
• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - The USPTO has resources dedicated for Inventors and Entrepreneurs including information on patent, trademark, and copyright basics.
• Y Combinator Startup Library - Over the past 15 years, YC has created many videos, podcasts and essays as resources for startup founders.

Graduate Certificate in Technology Management through the Smith School of Business offers students an opportunity to dive deeper than design thinking, understand innovation from the inside, and start engineering your enterprise's future.

Master of Professional Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation educates and empowers graduate students to launch and lead innovative startups and corporate ventures.

Master of Professional Studies in Product Management combines online experiences with award-winning faculty, self-paced coursework and connections with the University of Maryland community to link innovators from around the world. Offered through the convenience and flexibility of our 100% online learning environment, our program has been specially crafted to offer high-quality, interactive collaboration with worldwide.

Nonprofit Management and Leadership Graduate Certificate can be obtained after completing four courses, which prepares mission-driven professionals to excel in management, strategy, finances, and fundraising.

UMD Coursera Specializations:

• Corporate Entrepreneurship: Innovating within Corporations Specialization is for individuals who are charged and/or inspired to develop and lead new businesses within established companies. It's specifically designed for junior- and middle-managers with the the opportunity, or responsibility, to start new businesses or initiatives within their company or division, in any industry, and in any country.
• Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business Specialization - Develop your entrepreneurial mindset and skill sets, learn how to bring innovations to market, and craft a business model to successfully launch your new business.
• Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship Specialization - Learners examine real-world scenarios and address legal and business issues in a practical manner. Learners will develop an understanding of what legal activities they may pursue on their own as well as when and how to select and work with an attorney.
• Product Ideation, Design, and Management Specialization - This specialization is designed for aspiring and active product leaders seeking to pursue careers in product management, product design, and related roles. Through five practical courses, you will learn the fundamentals for designing and managing products. Upon completion, you will have created your own personal toolbox of knowledge and techniques for approaching and solving real-world problems that product leaders face.

UMD edX - Browse free online courses in a variety of subjects offered by UMD through edX. These courses found can be audited free or students can choose to receive a verified certificate for a small fee. Below are only a few of the courses offered:

• Agile Innovation and Problem Solving Skills - Innovative products and services change lives, and having the right innovative process creates an competitive advantage. Ultimately, innovation is about one thing: problem solving.
• Achieving Product-Market Fit - Learn how to truly know your target customer, your customer’s underserved needs, your value proposition, your product feature set, and your user experience, then integrate this knowledge into product and market requirements and positioning plans.
• Financing Innovative Ventures - This course will demystify key financial concepts to give aspiring and active entrepreneurs and innovators a guide for understanding their financials and securing funding.
• Fundamentals of Digital Marketing - Learn the varied and changing approaches to digital marketing, such as mobile and omnichannel marketing and attribution and marketing mix modeling to inform your organization’s digital marketing strategy.
• Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunities - This course explores how anyone can be a successful startup entrepreneur or corporate innovator by thoughtfully examining themselves and the business opportunity. By harnessing these insights and cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit, you can create and transform an entrepreneurial idea into a new startup company or corporate venture.
• Online Advertising & Social Media - Learn how to develop Online Advertising Ecosystems complete with Social Media/Social Network and Media Big Data analysis for better decision making in all forms of outreach.
• Product Design, Prototyping, and Testing - Translate product ideas into tangible assets by creating wireframes, 3D renderings, prototypes, and minimum viable products (MVPs) to test assumptions and validate customer interests.

Accelerators

• 2GetherInt. is the Leading Startup Accelerator for Disabled Founders. 2GI supports disabled founders by connecting them with the resources they need to create thriving high growth, high impact startups. We’re challenging the entrepreneurial ecosystem at large to flip the narrative, and see disability as a competitive advantage for businesses.
  • BIPOC Accelerator - With support from Comcast NBCUniversal, 2Gether-international created a 10-week accelerator program to support BIPOC entrepreneurs with disabilities.
• Founder Institute is the world's most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses.
• Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator (MEIA) - MEIA focuses on early-stage technology commercialization in partnership with Maryland-based Universities and Labs to support Maryland's Clean Energy and Climate Goals.
• SEED SPOT Impact Accelerator provides expert training, quick-start tools, and personalized coaching to socially-focused founders within this 8 week accelerator.
• TechStars hosts 3-month accelerators where founders can gain funding, mentorship, and access to the Techstars network for life.
• Y Combinator has an overall goal to help startups really take off. They arrive at YC at all different stages. Some haven’t even started working yet, and others have been launched for a year or more. But whatever stage a startup is at when they arrive, YC's goal is to help them to be in dramatically better shape 3 months later.

Incubators

• Halcyon accelerate impact-driven ventures through a variety of programs including the Halcyon Incubator, which is committed to solving 21st-century challenges throughout the nation and the world. By helping social entrepreneur fellows transform audacious ideas into scalable and sustainable ventures, the Incubator acts as a catalyst for measurable social outcomes.
• Innovation Station Business Incubator (ISBI) powered by the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation is the elite business accelerator agent and entrepreneurial ecosystem hub of the County.

Programs

• Bethesda Green Be Green Innovation Lab includes four programs for companies of all stages, built on the premise of nurturing green and social impact start- ups to accelerate their success as companies with purpose. Participation in the Lab provides numerous tangible and intangible benefits from incubation services and non-equity-linked financial awards. Differentiators include program-embedded social and environmental impact benchmarking and improvement tools via our Be Green for B Corps Program, along with offering a strong, established community network at a dedicated address.
• Cureate Courses is a tailored business training program with online and in-person elements based on the needs of food and beverage entrepreneurs, including one-on-one assistance, group coaching and interactive online study. You tell us the community of entrepreneurs you’re interested in supporting and other basic logistical information, and we get to work creating a customized curriculum and marketing program.
• Dorm Room Fund - The company recruits annually. Learn about our application cycle for the HQ and investment teams.
• Entrepreneurs Futures Network (EFN) is a global non-profit based in the San Francisco Bay Area that is dedicated to helping organizations and individuals worldwide to tap the power of entrepreneurial mentoring, networks and training.
• National Disability Institute - The NDI supports aspiring entrepreneur and existing business owners with a disability who live in DC, Maryland or Virginia to help them start, build, and grow their business.
• Pear Female Founder Circles - Join aspiring and early-stage female technical founders to explore startup ideas and build life-long relationships.
• SEED SPOT 2-Day Launch Camp is a program aimed at getting early-stage ventures or ideas off the ground, which includes hands-on programming and access to experts who will provide feedback on your idea.
• Sky's The Limit - Connects underrepresented entrepreneurs with volunteer business professionals for free one-on-one mentoring.
• VentureWell ASPIRE is a five-week intensive program that prepares startups for the investments and partnerships necessary to launch their venture.  Mentors-in-residence work one-on-one with startups to simulate due diligence conversations and integrate feedback into deal room materials in real-time.
• Y Combinator Startup School - Learn how to start a company, with help from the world's top startup accelerator - Y Combinator. Startup School is an 8-week online course on how to start a startup.

• Baltimore Innovation Week is a five-day celebration with multiple independently produced events that are focused on showcasing local companies, highlighting entrepreneurship resources, and bringing together Baltimore’s innovation community.
• DC Startup Calendar - Learn about upcoming events in the DMV.
• DC Startup Week (DCSW) is the fastest-growing startup community in the DMV region with over 10,000 entrepreneurs. Once a year, we bring together our expansive community over 5-days to connect, collaborate, share resources and celebrate our thriving ecosystem. Throughout the year, we strengthen our united community by curating inclusive, thought-provoking, and meaningful events and partnerships.
• Global Entrepreneurship Week - is a global celebration of entrepreneurship that occurs in the second week of November.

• Entrepreneurs Futures Network Training Solutions - Topics include innovation and legal topics, intellectual property protection, innovator coaching, project development and funding, pitching and communications, grant writing, entrepreneurial program development and management, and training sessions on specific technology topics such as energy and water.
• Maryland Entrepreneur Hub - Explore Maryland's entrepreneurship ecosystem, which includes over 2,000 resources to build your business in the state.
• Pear Resources - Check out fundraising, growth, sales & marketing, and hiring guides.
• TechStars Entrepreneur's Toolkit is an online educational resource to help you learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and accelerate your success.
• VentureWell section on What Customer Discovery Approach is Right for You
• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - The USPTO has resources dedicated for Inventors and Entrepreneurs including information on patent, trademark, and copyright basics.
• Y Combinator Startup Library - Over the past 15 years, YC has created many videos, podcasts and essays as resources for startup founders.

Terp Entrepreneur Network (TEN) is a platform for entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals to network, share expertise and enjoy exclusive experiences with like-minded Terps.

• Attend future TEN events like the EnTERPreneur Conference
• Browse the Terp Referral Exchange Business Directory
• Get to know fellow EnTERPreneurs in the Terp Business Spotlight
• Subscribe to the TEN monthly newsletter
• Request to join the LinkedIn TEN Group

Venture For America (VFA) is a national nonprofit and two-year Fellowship program that gives recent college graduates firsthand startup experiences that help them become leaders who make meaningful impacts with their careers.

Several University of Maryland alumni have participated as VFA Fellows including:

• Solomon Asad '22 serves in Baltimore
• Vanessa Barker '20 served in Philadelphia
• Kira Barrett '20 served in Philadelphia
• Liza Curcio-Rudy '19 served in New Orleans
• James Fayal '12 served in Cincinnati and Philadelphia
• Chris Frye '18 served in New Orleans
• Benjamin Gold '21 served in Kansas City
• Dustin Kang '19 served in Detroit
• Kelli Webber '20 served in Cleveland
• Breonna Massey '20 served in Baltimore
• Barret Rus '20 served in Philadelphia
• Alexander Tran '19 served in New York City and Kansas City
• Benjamin Walton '19 served in Cleveland

Learn more about VFA, get to know more about these UMD VFA Fellows, and hear from a few of these UMD alumni about their experiences as VFA Fellows.