About the Faculty Innovation Fellows

Michigan Wolverine Innovation Network (MWIN)

The Office of Economic Development and Community Engagement (OED & CE) at UM-Flint is pleased to launch the 2025-2026 Michigan Wolverine Innovation Network (MWIN) Faculty Innovation Fellows program. The goal of the program is to foster innovation, creativity, and the entrepreneurial mindset throughout all academic disciplines on campus.

The 2025-2026 Faculty Innovation Fellows will participate as a cohort in virtual and in-person workshops focused on entrepreneurship and the innovation process. Fellows will be guided from ideation to product development, launch, and potential commercialization of their innovation.

One Faculty Innovation Fellow will be selected from each UM-Flint school/college. Faculty from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply, and as such, innovation is defined broadly.

The MWIN Capstone course will allow students to learn valuable career skills by working in collaborative teams to create innovative solutions for market identified needs. Each MWIN Capstone cohort will be expected to solve one or more of the following:

  • An industry-identified technology problem or gap
  • A small business or entrepreneur-identified technology problem
  • A Faculty Innovation Fellow research or project idea that has real world applications

Why does this benefit faculty?

Faculty Innovation Fellows will work as a cohort to develop new opportunities for the UM-Flint campus and community partners. Along the way, faculty will expand their knowledge of entrepreneurship and commercialization. Fellows will also be connected with a network of peers and the regional innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Faculty will also have the opportunity to build a Capstone course that can expand job opportunities and career preparation
for graduates.

Funding from the C.S. Mott Foundation will provide a $5,000 stipend for up to 6 Faculty Innovation Fellows in the Winter 2026 semester.

Expectations

All Faculty Innovation Fellows will participate in bi-weekly working sessions throughout the Winter 2026 semester. These sessions will be held virtually and in-person.

As a team, the cohort will be provided with professional development sessions with faculty and experts to better understand the product development lifecycle, commercialization process and the entrepreneurial mindset.

Support

Each Fellow will receive a $5,000 stipend to compensate them for semester-length training.

Up to 6 Faculty Innovation Fellows, one per school/college will be chosen for the Winter 2026 cohort.

Michigan Wolverine Innovation Network. Faculty Innovation Fellows Program Timeline. November 2025, Step 1: Faculty Innovation Fellows submission period opens. December 5, 2025, Step 2: Submissions are due via InfoReady. December 12, 2025, Step 3: Winter 2025 cohort is announced. January-April 2026, Step 4: Bi-weekly team sessions. Congrats! MWIN program complete. For more information, contact Paula Nas at pnas@umich.edu. UM-Flint Office of Economic Development and Community Engagement
Michigan Wolverine Innovation Network Program Outline. January 16, 2026, Session 1: Introduction, MWIN Goals, What is your business idea or innovation, Overview of Business Model Canvas, Next Level Opportunities. January 30, 2026, Session 2: SWOT Analysis. February 13, 2026, Session 3: Defining Your Customer Base, Locating Key Partners, Mentorship, and Networking. February 27, 2026, Session 4: Legal Issues. March 13, 2026, Session 5: Marketing Essentials, Cost Structure, revenue stream, profits and losses. March 27, 2026, Session 6: Creating a Pitch. April 17, 2026, Session 7: Reflections and path forward. Meetings will be held on Firday mornings, bi-weekly, from 9am-10:30am. For more information, contact Paula Nas at pnas@umich.edu. UM-Flint Office of Economic Development and Community Engagement

Submit any questions below:

Or reach out directly to: Paula Nas, Director of the Office of Economic Development and Community Engagement

Phone

810-241-4053