Attendance at one of the virtual sessions is a requirement for application to the Student Startup Residency program.

The FORGE Student Startup Residency invites students with advanced venture concepts in the biomedical, semiconductor manufacturing, and/or artificial intelligence vertical market to apply. The program offers a sizeable entrepreneurial training financial grant as part of an 8-week Summer ‘Startup Bootcamp’ that includes expert mentoring, notable guest speakers, and opportunities to pitch to a panel of actual investors.

ELIGIBILITY

• This opportunity is open to enrolled University of Arizona undergraduate and graduate students in any major graduating in May 2025 or later. Up to 30 students will be selected.
• Students must submit a ‘venture dossier’ consisting of résumé, startup concept pitch slide, market assessment, and competitive analysis. Incomplete dossiers will not be considered.
• The startup concept must belong to the student and originate from the student’s own idea.
• The startup concept must be post-idea: identify a specific, important, large problem; have a hypothesis for how to solve it; identify a meaningful market for such a solution.

• Selected students must complete an online, asynchronous Venturing 101 Course 2 prior to start of the bootcamp.

   

STARTUP BOOTCAMP (13 May – 12 July )

• Students engage in an intensive 8-week program over the Summer of 2024 with regular director check-ins and mentor sessions, weekly guest speaker and industry talks, and daily team meetings.
• All accepted students will receive a total of $4000* upon completion of 4 stated milestones.
• Graduate students will receive an additional $1600* and serve as leads and mentors for student teams.
• The bootcamp culminates in a live pitch to a panel of angels and VCs who invest in the vertical. Students should not expect actual investments, but will gain extraordinary insight and valuable professional experience.
• The program (Summer and Fall) takes place in person at FORGE at Roy Place in Tucson and FORGE at the Phoenix Bioscience Core. Preference will be for students who can attend the bootcamp in person, but a limited number of exceptions will be made for online only.

Learn more at forge.arizona.edu/studentstartups

* Funds awarded through this program may be viewed as taxable income by the IRS. You and your family should consult a tax advisor.