NJII Venture Studio Fellowship
Develop as a Scientist. Learn to Build Ventures.
The NJII Venture Studio Fellowship gives NJIT PhD students the opportunity to step outside the lab and gain hands-on experience evaluating technologies, developing new ventures, and working alongside entrepreneurs and investors.
Fellows bring their technical expertise into the commercialization process, helping determine how promising research can move from invention to startup.
Apply to the Fellowship
The NJII Venture Studio: Turning Research into Impact
Breakthrough research does not always make it out of the lab, or the academic journal. The NJII Venture Studio works with researchers to identify promising technologies, evaluate commercial opportunities, build new ventures, and invest in companies emerging from the NJIT scientific community.
The Fellowship embeds PhD students directly into that process. Rather than learning entrepreneurship only in the classroom, Fellows work on real technologies and real commercialization decisions alongside the Venture Studio team.
What Fellows Do
Fellows may work across the Venture Studio's investment and venture-development pipeline. This hands-on contribution directly impacts commercialization pathways.
Evaluating emerging technologies and invention disclosures
Conducting market and competitive research
Assessing intellectual property and commercialization potential
Interviewing customers and industry experts
Supporting technical and commercial due diligence
Developing market-sizing and business-model analyses
Working with faculty inventors and startup founders
Supporting investment recommendations and new venture formation
Who Should Apply?
The Fellowship is designed primarily for NJIT PhD students interested in exploring careers beyond—or alongside—traditional academic research.
It may be particularly valuable if you are:
Conducting research with potential commercial applications
Considering filing a patent based on your research
Interested in launching a startup now or in the future
Curious about venture capital, technology transfer, or innovation
Exploring careers at the intersection of science, business, and entrepreneurship
*No prior startup, investing, or business experience is required.
What You'll Learn
By working directly with the Venture Studio, Fellows develop practical experience in:
Technology Commercialization
How university research moves from invention disclosure to intellectual property, licensing, and startup formation.
Venture Creation
How entrepreneurs translate technologies into products, identify customers, test business models, and build companies.
Early-Stage Investing
How investors evaluate technology, markets, teams, intellectual property, risk, and potential returns.
Commercial Thinking for Scientists
How to ask a different set of questions about research: Who needs this? What problem does it solve? What alternatives already exist? Why would someone pay for it?
Program Structure
Eligibility
NJIT PhD students in any scientific or technical discipline
Duration
Up to 12 months with periodic milestone reviews
Location
NJII Venture Studio / Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Time Commitment
10-20 hrs/week Academic Advisor Approval Required
The Fellowship is intentionally time-limited so that multiple generations of NJIT researchers can gain exposure to entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.
Bring a Different Perspective to Your PhD
Whether you ultimately become a faculty researcher, startup founder, investor, industry scientist, or technology commercialization professional, understanding how scientific discoveries reach the market can change how you think about research itself.
The Venture Studio Fellowship provides an opportunity to develop that perspective while contributing your scientific expertise to the next generation of NJIT startups.