GW's Innovation Ecosystem

The Technology Commercialization Office collaborates with several university, regional and national offices and programs to provide experiential learning opportunities, foster a culture of entrepreneurship and create a thriving innovation ecosystem at GW.

GW is boosting regional innovation as part of a new $15M National Science Foundation I-Corps Hub.

GW’s New Venture Competition is ranked #1 among U.S. collegiate entrepreneurial competitions.

GW is in the top 50 for venture-backed startups by graduate school alumni founders (2022).

More than 16,000 members of the GW community have participated in entrepreneurship training and activities.

Below are just a few of our partners, resources and events.

Office of the Vice Provost for Research

The Technology Commercialization Office works closely with many units within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR). OVPR facilitates external and internal funding processes, and provides support for research initiatives at the George Washington University (GW). Research and innovation are driving forces advancing GW as an academic institution and society as a whole, and OVPR strives to strengthen existing initiatives and expand into new multidisciplinary fields.

GW Research Showcase
The GW Research Showcase gives students the opportunity to present their work and compete for prize money. This annual event is dedicated to highlighting the breadth of research and discovery on issues of major disciplinary, cross-disciplinary and global significance being done at GW through poster sessions, presentations and guest speakers.

Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) provides programming around innovation, education and venture creation. For more than a decade, the office has helped forge relationships between aspiring GW entrepreneurs and the Mid-Atlantic startup community. TCO collaborates with OIE to train GW inventors who are interested in learning more about starting a company to develop their technology.

GW New Venture Competition
The GW New Venture Competition gives GW students, faculty, staff and alumni a real-world, experiential learning opportunity in entrepreneurship. Students compete in multiple tracks for different business types and work with mentors to craft and pitch a stellar idea. Winners of the New Venture Competition, which is the largest collegiate competition in the country, receive $5,000 - $50,000 to help launch their ventures.

I-Corps
I-Corps is a National Science Foundation program designed to foster, grow and nurture innovation ecosystems regionally and nationally. This immersive, seven-week program prepares researchers to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory by providing hands-on training on how to successfully turn innovations into real-world products. The ultimate goal is to create a new venture or licensing opportunity for I-Corps participants.

I + E Lab at Western Market Workspaces
The GW Innovation+Entrepreneurship Lab (I+E Lab) in Western Market provides all the physical and intellectual resources current GW students and faculty need to develop and grow, including one-to-one advising, office hours with industry experts, workshops, and events. Open co-working space is available to GW students and student groups looking to find a home and work on innovative ideas, startup ventures, and entrepreneurial projects.

GW Innovation Center at SEAS

The GW Innovation Center at the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) is a multidisciplinary, student-driven space for hands-on, experiential learning focused on social impact and design. It offers a supportive climate for ideation, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking, and facilitates knowledge transfer and acquisition of applicable skills, new domain exploration and interaction with peers from other disciplines.

Pitch George

Pitch George is an "elevator pitch" competition organized by the GW Business School’s Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CFEE) that invites GW students to present their business ideas, receive feedback on the viability of their concepts and win thousands of dollars in startup capital. The competition offers a real-world view into entrepreneurship and hands-on preparation for the GW New Venture Competition through the support of GW's faculty and network of Washington, D.C., business executives.