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INVO Practicum

The INVO Practicum is an unpaid eight-month internship program (October through May) open to all Northwestern graduate students and senior scientists who are interested in learning about the university technology transfer process.  For the first time, rising Northwestern seniors who exhibit either technical and/or business acumen relevant to the Practicum may also be considered. The interns are exposed to vast areas of innovation and gain hands-on experience in evaluating technologies for patentability, marketability and commercialization readiness. They are expected to manage the analysis of multiple technologies that fall in and outside of their wheelhouse and to communicate their findings with INVO staff and faculty inventors.

Since 2015, the Practicum has trained and mentored 66 graduate students, postdocs and research professors from McCormick School of Engineering, Feinberg School of Medicine, Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences and Pritzker School of Law. They bring a sophisticated level and breadth of scientific knowledge ranging from basic and synthetic biology, bioengineering, medicinal chemistry to computational chemistry, mechanical and materials science engineering. Subsequent to their internships, they have been placed in university technology transfer offices, IP law firms, consulting firms and industry across the country.

Program Requirements

This program requires attendance at training sessions and a commitment of 8-10 hours per week over an eight-month period. The interns will gain hands-on experience in evaluating technologies for patentability and marketability as well as be expected to effectively communicate their findings with INVO staff.

Desired Qualifications

Session Dates

Applications for the October 2023 cohort are currently open.  Applications will close on Friday, September 1, 2023.

The tentative first day of the next cohort is October 6, 2023. 

Apply for INVO Practicum

To apply for the Practicum, submit the following materials:

 If you have any questions, please contact Sonia Kim (sonia.kim@northwestern.edu).

 

WHERE OUR INTERNS ARE NOW

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