SBDC Webinar to Look at Technology Development Funding at UW

University of Wyoming faculty, postdoctoral students and graduate students can learn about developing new technology with SBIR/STTR funding within a university setting.

A Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) webinar, titled “SBIR/STTR for Faculty, Postdocs and Grad Students,” is scheduled Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 2-3 p.m. Participants will learn about Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) eligibility requirements; differences between the SBIR and STTR programs and other grants; and how to determine if this type of funding makes sense for a particular technology. 

The SBDC is a partnership among the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Business Council and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBDC focuses on educating small-business owners and potential owners on how to successfully start and operate small businesses. The SBDC’s main office is located at UW.

Lisa Kurek, of BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting, will present the program. She is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and consultant in the areas of grant writing and product commercialization. An expert on the federal SBIR/STTR programs, Kurek has trained thousands of entrepreneurs and coached hundreds of companies in creating successful SBIR/STTR proposals.

Before her current position, she spent 15 years in product and business development, sales and product management in the biomedical technology industry. She worked with large, publicly held corporations as well as small startups. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in biomedical engineering. 

When developing new technology with SBIR/STTR funds at a university, some questions that arise include:

-- Who owns the technology?

-- What are the requirements for being a project investigator?

-- Are unpaid consultants allowed to work on SBIR/STTR projects?

There is no fee for this webinar, but attendees must register at www.wyomingsbdc.org to obtain the link to the program.

Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made, if requested at least two weeks in advance. Language assistance services for clients with limited English proficiency will be provided. For more information, call Kelly Haigler-Cornish at (307) 766-2904.

The Wyoming SBDC Network is a business advising group of the Wyoming SBDC, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Market Research Center and SBIR/STTR Initiative. The network’s mission is to help Wyoming entrepreneurs succeed. Advising and most market research activities are free of charge to Wyoming residents.

The SBDC is funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. SBA. Additional support is provided by the Wyoming Business Council and UW.

For more information, go to www.wyomingsbdc.org.