May 4—CHAMPAIGN — A local incubator for tech startups is receiving $50,000 to help jumpstart an initiative focused on connecting scientific minds with emerging entrepreneurial leaders.

The University of Illinois Research Park's EnterpriseWorks incubator has been named a Stage One winner in the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC).

"At the University of Illinois, we have very prolific researchers, an amazing portfolio of new technologies," said Director of Entrepreneurship Gerald Wilson.

"However, not as many entrepreneurs. Not as many faculty members or their graduate students are willing to take up the mantle of spinning out these technologies and bringing them to market."

The SBA awarded Stage One designations to organizations that presented "impactful and inclusive approaches to foster a thriving, collaborative national innovation support ecosystem to advance small business research and development."

The SBA will award additional cash prizes of $50,000 to $150,000 during Stage Two, with submissions open in June.

The agency plans to announce Stage Two winners by September.

EnterpriseWorks's GAFC project is a new program known as the Entrepreneurial Leadership Development Accelerator (ELDA), which is designed to identify and cultivate talent to "develop and/or support academic co-founders in the formation, launch, and growth of new science-based startups," research park officials said.

"In my opinion, identifying and recruiting cofounders is the single biggest bottleneck to achieving real-world impact with UIUC research. Many — perhaps most — of our faculty inventors would welcome the opportunity to work with a grad student, postdoc, or external business-side lead to commercialize their technologies," said Michelle Chitambar, Senior Technology Manager at the university's Office of Technology Management.

The OTM will work with EnterpriseWorks to identify technology in the fields of sustainability and biotechnology that could serve as the potential foundation for new businesses, research park officials said.

During Stage One, EnterpriseWorks will work with university partners and organizations across the state to define participant profiles, recruiting, curriculum and mentorship processes.

The incubator hopes to emerge from this period with a curriculum that can serve as the foundation for ELDA and also be leveraged by stakeholders across Illinois, Wilson said.

According to EnterpriseWorks, Stage Two funding would be used to implement the ELDA program and launch its first cohort in the fall of 2024.

"The cohort will receive training as part of a 12-week intensive entrepreneurial leadership training program prior to deployment within existing ventures or to support new spin outs," research park officials said.

The program aims to recruit cohorts that are at least 50 percent women or other underrepresented groups.

When asked how he feels about the likelihood of receiving Stage Two funding, Wilson replied, "I think our chances are good. I think we, as EnterpriseWorks, have had a track record of leveraging these kinds of funds and putting them to work to pilot new programs."