Innovation Lab Fellowships
AY 2023-24
1. Overview
The Innovation Lab is Spelman College’s creative commons for interdisciplinary ideation, design and making. Faculty and students leverage the resources of the lab to develop personal projects, conduct research activity, pursue entrepreneurial ventures, craft new forms of art, prototype new products and ideate on interdisciplinary projects.
The purpose of the Innovation Lab Fellowship program is to guide and support students looking to complete a well-defined, long-term project in the Lab. The Lab provides exposure and mentoring on the practical technologies, methods and practices for materializing and/or productizing the student's project.
The Lab offers 3 year-long fellowship tracks: a Maker Fellowship, a Gaming Fellowship and an Entrepreneurship Fellowship. Students progress through these fellowships by developing and carrying out a project plan leading to the completion of a fellowship project. The project plan is co-developed and/or approved by the Innovation Lab Directors. Requirements of the fellowship project for each fellowship track are outlined in the corresponding track description section below. As a general rule, fellowship projects cannot be “double-counted” to simultaneously satisfy a curricular requirement (consult with the Innovation Lab Directors for possible exceptions).
Approximately 9 fellowships will be offered for the 2022-23 academic year.
2. Maker Fellowship
The Maker Fellowship is designed to enhance and broaden the student’s ability in making and fabrication, particularly when this leverages the Lab's digital capabilities. The broadest of the three fellowships, the Maker Fellowship is suitable for students looking to increase their mastery of rapid prototyping and electronics ( 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers and other technologies, physical computing) as an enhancing supplement to her liberal arts education. Art, product prototype, fashion accessories, prosthetic models, robotic, technology-enhanced performances, hydroponics and research instrumentation are some past projects that could be completed with a Maker Fellowship.
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The Maker Fellowship is a two-semester fellowship. Selected fellows will receive stipends on an hourly basis up to $3000.
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Maker Fellowship applicants must propose a fellowship project to be completed over the course of the fellowship period. A review of the proposed project will be part of the fellowship applicant selection process. Applicants are encouraged to consult with the Lab Directors (jvolcy@spelman.edu, jholme15@spelman.edu, pthomp14@spelman.edu) about suitable projects for the Maker Fellowship prior to applying. The fellowship project is subject to milestone deliverables and regular check-ins. Fellows are required to document the progress of their project on a public media site (blog, social media, etc.). Fellows should plan on presenting their results at the College’s annual Research Day held in April of the fellowship year.
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3. Gaming Fellowship
The Gaming Fellowship is designed to enhance and broaden the student’s ability in the technologies of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Game development, mobile app development and other software efforts not associated with coursework.
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The Gaming Fellowship is a two-semester fellowship. Selected fellows will receive stipends on an hourly basis up to $3000.
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Gaming Fellowship applicants must propose a fellowship project unrelated to coursework to be completed over the course of the fellowship period. A review of the proposed project will be part of the fellowship applicant selection process. Applicants are encouraged to consult with the Lab Directors (jvolcy@spelman.edu, jholme15@spelman.edu, pthomp14@spelman.edu) about suitable projects for the Gaming Fellowship prior to applying. The fellowship project is subject to milestone deliverables and regular check-ins. Fellows are required to document the progress of their project on a public media site (blog, social media, etc.). Fellows should plan on presenting their results at the College’s annual Research Day held in April of the fellowship year.
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4. Entrepreneurship Fellowship
The Blackstone Launchpad Entrepreneurship Fellowship is a two-semester fellowship focused on helping existing Spelman Entrepreneurs grow their already established businesses. The ideal case will be a business with products already in the market. However, strong business cases and teams at any stage will be considered. Benefits of the Entrepreneur Fellowship include stipend support for founders, access to the resources of the Innovation Lab and Blackstone Launchpad and 1-on-1 mentorship for participants. The goals of the fellowship will be to increase business traction, expand the founder’s network and fortify their entrepreneurship knowledge through co-curricular programming.
Selected fellows will receive a $2500 stipend, payable in installments. Student teams will receive a stipend of $4000 to be divided among members of the teams. Entrepreneurship fellows must participate in Spelpreneur programming and meet business milestones for successful completion of the fellowship.
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Entrepreneurship Fellowship applicants must propose a business case to be developed over the course of the fellowship period. A review of the proposed case will be part of the fellowship applicant selection process. Applicants are encouraged to consult with the Lab Directors (jvolcy@spelman.edu, jholme15@spelman.edu, pthomp14@spelman.edu) about suitable business cases prior to applying. Progress on the business case is subject to milestone deliverables and regular check-ins. Fellows are required to document the progress of their case development. For student teams, the roles and contributions of each team member needs to be clearly defined. Upon completing the fellowship, Fellows will be required to prepare a public demo and pitch of their business at a venue approved by the Lab Directors.
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5. Eligibility
All current Spelman students are eligible to apply. However, you must be present on campus for both semesters during your fellowship year.
6. Application
Fellowship applications for the 2023-24 academic year are due at 11:59pm on September 2, 2023. Submit your application through the Innovation Lab Fellowship Application Portal. Awardees will be notified by September 8. A kickoff meeting will be scheduled immediately after. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the Fellowship information sessions to be held at 5:30pm on August 24. The meeting will be held in the Innovation Lab, Science Center Room 230.
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