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Commercialization Fellowship

Home » Innovation & Partnerships » Commercialization » Commercialization Fellowship

Commercialization Fellowships are funded by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) and awarded to a select group of postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The program supports the research commercialization process by providing strategic, short-term funding to assist in transforming academic research into a product or service.

Education on intellectual property (IP) and commercialization

Connections with industry and community partners

Experiential learning opportunities

$7,500 stipend to use towards creating a proof of concept, prototype testing and validation studies

Fellowships are open to York University postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows with approval from their academic supervisor. Intellectual property must be disclosed to VPRI prior to the start of the fellowship. The applicant’s intellectual property should not be encumbered to any 3rd parties during the term of the fellowship.

Recipients will be given $7,500 per fellowship. While matching funds are not mandatory, applications that include matching funds will be looked upon favourably.

The fellowship runs from January to April each year.

As part of the Commercialization Fellowship, the fellows will receive education on intellectual property and commercialization, exposure to industry/community partners relevant to their field of study, and an experiential learning opportunity. Fellows will be supported by a series of educational activities, including workshops and seminars, and expected to complete tasks to enhance their commercial awareness including:

  • Prior art / patent searching
  • Commercial due diligence
  • Industry outreach/pitching

Commercialization Fellowships may be used to support the following research activities:

  • Proof of concept
  • Prototype testing
  • Validation studies

and may be used to fund:

  • Stipend/salary (top-up) for the fellow in consideration of the work undertaken.
  • Payments for materials/apparatus required for the project, up to 25% of the total fellowship.

Each fellow will be assigned a Commercialization Manager to work with and ensure that the project plan described in the application is carried out. Fellows will meet monthly with their allocated Commercialization Manager to monitor progress.

Fellows will be required to generate a final report and presentation as part of the Commercialization Fellowship:  A full write up of the project detailing methods, results, intellectual property and market overview and next steps. Fellows may be asked to give a final presentation.

  1. Once applications open, download and fill out the application form.
  2. Submit the completed application form to: innovationyork@yorku.ca by the deadline indicated.

Applications are now closed. Please stay tuned for the next opportunity.

Important Dates

Early September

Applications Open

Late October

Applications Close

Late December

Awards Confirmed & Funds Allocated

Late April

Projects Completed & Final Report and Presentation Due

*Dates are tentative and subject to change

A group of research students.

Read About Our Past Fellows Here

Have a Question?

Connect with our commercialization team here.