NOW OPEN: Spring 2021 to Winter 2022 Opportunities
(Flexible start date, remote as required)
Learn first-hand what it takes to have a successful startup
and apply those learnings to your own innovation.
(Multiple applications are welcome to any and all openings)
Innovator Fellowship Details
Overview
- $70K fellowship: 1 year salary, tuition, travel, research and conference expenses (supported by IIFH)
- Timeline: Spring 2021 to Winter 2022 (flexible start date, remote as required)
- Eligibility: UC Davis post-doctoral fellows, or PhD students in their last 1-2 years of study
- Experiential Learning with Venture Capital Group: During the first quarter of the fellowship, the fellow will work with the host to evaluate startups in the food system and identify investable ventures, kicking off with an onsite residency (up to $10K travel, accommodation and conference allowance provided). During the second quarter upon return to Davis, the fellow will engage in regular virtual and in-person meetings with the venture capital host.
- Developing and De-risking Innovative Concept: Using the knowledge gained in the first phase of the program, fellows will have an additional two quarters to conduct critical studies for de-risking a potential technology, product or process they want to develop.
- Applications DUE Friday, October 30, 2020 – OR UNTIL FILLED.
Program Details
The program provides winning Innovator Fellows up to $70K in funding for salary, tuition, travel and research expenses over four quarters. This immersive food-tech-entrepreneurship opportunity will be offered multiple times yearly, with flexible start dates.
During the first quarter, the fellow will work with the host to evaluate startups in the food system and identify investable ventures, kicking off with an onsite residency. During the second quarter upon return to Davis, the fellow will engage in regular virtual and in-person meetings with the venture host. Using the knowledge gained in the first phase of the program, fellows will have an additional two quarters to conduct critical studies for de-risking a potential technology, product or process they want to develop.
Learn directly from venture capital groups how to move ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace! Through a unique partnership between academia and entrepreneurs, the Innovation Institute for Food & Health (IIFH) joins with host investor groups to support UC Davis POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS and PhD STUDENTS in developing hands-on entrepreneurial experience in food, agriculture and health innovation.
Innovator Fellows will learn how investors evaluate startups and how to conduct critical experiments, studies or prototyping to get their own innovations to market. Host venture capital groups are mission-aligned with the IIFH vision of food system transformation to safer, more sustainable, and secure nutrition for all.
Selection Criteria
The selection committee considers applications in accordance with the following criteria:
- Graduate students or postdoctoral fellows with demonstrated interest in solving global food challenges
- Demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship and advancing an innovative research or business concept
- Commercial potential of concept for development
- Relevance to hosting venture group
- Strength of support from faculty supervisor
Application Requirements
Please apply separately to either or both opportunities. Preference is given to UC Davis postdoctoral fellows and graduate students who have a strong interest in food, agriculture or health innovation. Interested candidates must complete the Innovator Fellowship application via the links below:
- Resume (PDF)
- Letter of interest detailing current PhD research, why the program is of interest to you, and how your career goals align therewith (max. 2 pages, PDF)
- Letter of support from supervising professor of research project (max. 1 page, PDF)
Latest Innovator Fellows
Meet our Latest Innovator Fellows
The IIFH Grad Innovator Fellowship provides candidates with the opportunity to tackle real-world challenges using their technical expertise to explore successful venture capital investment in research, breakthroughs and startups. This summer, Britta Heiss and Morgan Matson will join TechAccel and Better Ventures respectively to gain first-hand experience on what it takes to develop and de-risk their own potential innovations in animal health and sustainable fuels. Learn more…
Summer 2020 Fellows
Applications DUE Friday, October 30, 2020 – OR UNTIL FILLED.
Elemental Excelerator is a Hawaii and California based accelerator that connects commercial opportunities to entrepreneurs building world changing companies. Every year, they provide up to $1M to each of 15-20 mission-aligned ventures in energy, water, agriculture, transportation, circular economy and beyond. Elemental is working especially to address the lack of food resiliency and rising greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production, distribution and waste. Believing that our most complex problems require collective action, they are building an ecosystem of passionate people to change the world, one community at a time.
Applications DUE Friday, October 30, 2020 – OR UNTIL FILLED.
The March Fund is an early-late stage venture capital fund committed to supporting and investing in entrepreneurs and companies developing transformative biotechnologies, machine intelligence and sustainable nutrition solutions for the evolving consumer landscape and agriculture-food supply chain. They aim to accelerate the emergence of Food 3.0 on a global scale, and create a healthier, more sustainable planet. The March Fund was founded by Christopher Lai, former investor at Horizons Ventures; Dr. Harold Schmitz, former Chief Science Officer of Mars, Incorporated, Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Senior Scholar at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management; and Wang Rui, former CEO of Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co., Ltd and current Founder & CEO of QiFeng.
PAST OPPORTUNITIES
NOW OPEN - ELEMENTAL EXCELERATOR - 2021 INNOVATOR FELLOW (DUE October 30, 2020)
Elemental Excelerator is a Hawaii and California based accelerator that connects commercial opportunities to entrepreneurs building world changing companies. Every year, they provide up to $1M to each of 15-20 mission-aligned ventures in energy, water, agriculture, transportation, circular economy and beyond. Elemental is working especially to address the lack of food resiliency and rising greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production, distribution and waste. Believing that our most complex problems require collective action, they are building an ecosystem of passionate people to change the world, one community at a time.
Applications DUE Friday, October 30, 2020 – OR UNTIL FILLED. Click here to find out more.
NOW OPEN - THE MARCH FUND - 2021 INNOVATOR FELLOW (DUE October 30, 2020)
The March Fund is an early-late stage venture capital fund committed to supporting and investing in entrepreneurs and companies developing transformative biotechnologies, machine intelligence and sustainable nutrition solutions for the evolving consumer landscape and agriculture-food supply chain. They aim to accelerate the emergence of Food 3.0 on a global scale, and create a healthier, more sustainable planet. The March Fund was founded by Christopher Lai, former investor at Horizons Ventures; Dr. Harold Schmitz, former Chief Science Officer of Mars, Incorporated, Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Senior Scholar at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management; and Wang Rui, former CEO of Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co., Ltd and current Founder & CEO of QiFeng.
Applications DUE Friday, October 30, 2020 – OR UNTIL FILLED. Click here to find out more.
Under Review - TECH ACCEL - 2020 INNOVATOR FELLOW (DUE August 14, 2020)
About TechAccel
TechAccel LLC was founded in 2014 as a first-of-its-kind technology and venture development organization in the agriculture, animal health & nutrition, and food technology sectors.
TechAccel sources, invests in and acquires early-stage innovations. Through collaborations with dozens of universities and research institutions, TechAccel conducts science advancement and de-risking research and development to ready technologies for commercialization. TechAccel is based in the greater Kansas City area and has offices in St. Louis at the Danforth Plant Science Center.
DUE Friday, May 15, 2020 – OR UNTIL FILLED. Click here to learn more.
Under Review - BETTER VENTURES - 2020 INNOVATOR FELLOW (DUE August 14, 2020)
About Better Ventures
Better Ventures is an Oakland venture capital firm that provides funding and support to companies creating scalable solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges, including re-tooling for a sustainable economy, tackling data-driven health care, and enabling an adaptive workforce. They invest in software, data science, and life sciences startups to deliver profitably and progressively toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Better Ventures believes that mission-driven companies will outperform the market. They back pre-seed stage startups and founders who leverage breakthrough innovations in science and technology to build a more sustainable and equitable economy in which both people and planet thrive.
DUE Friday, May 15, 2020 – OR UNTIL FILLED. Click here to learn more.
Closed - THE MARCH FUND - 2020 INNOVATOR FELLOW
The March Fund is an early-late stage venture capital fund committed to supporting and investing in entrepreneurs and companies developing transformative biotechnologies, machine intelligence, and sustainable nutrition solutions for the evolving consumer landscape and agriculture-food supply chain. They aim to accelerate the emergence of Food 3.0 on a global scale, and create a healthier, more sustainable planet. The March Fund was founded by Christopher Lai, former investor at Horizon Ventures; Dr. Harold Schmitz, former Chief Science Officer of Mars, Incorporated, Life Member, Council on Foreign Relations and Senior Scholar at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management; and Wang Rui, former CEO of Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co., Ltd and current Founder & CEO of QiFeng. The fellowship provides opportunity for an exciting international residency in Hong Kong.
Applications are due Wednesday, October 23, 2019 – or until filled. Click here to learn more.
Closed - FOODSHOT GLOBAL - 2020 INNOVATOR FELLOW
FoodShot Global in New York empowers bold ideas and innovative companies to accelerate the transformation to a healthy, sustainable and equitable food system. It is a collaborative investment platform of innovators, investors, industry leaders and advocates working to solve our biggest food system challenges. By connecting knowledge, networks and funding across private and public sectors, FoodShot creates scalable, impactful, and inspired solutions – MoonShots for Better Food. FoodShot’s integrated capital continuum includes the $500,000+ GroundBreaker Prize for researchers, early stage entrepreneurs, and policy advocates, as well as up to $10 million in equity or debt investment for winning for-profit businesses. Along with post-investment resources, FoodShot’s blended capital model empowers best-in-class entrepreneurs, researchers and advocates to transform the most critical food system challenges into opportunities for collaborative investment and meaningful change. This year’s Protein Challenge focuses on solving the global protein gap. With the population growing to 10 billion and the rise of the global middle class, protein demand will increase exponentially. There is an intensifying urgency to radically innovate the entire protein supply chain — including crops, seafood, meat, and the emerging sectors of alternative proteins like algae, mushrooms, and cell-based meat.
Applications are due Wednesday, October 23, 2019 – or until filled. Click here to learn more.
Closed - FOOD FOR THOUGHT WORLDWIDE VENTURES - 2019 INNOVATOR FELLOW
An early-stage venture fund investing in breakthrough hardware, software and biotech solutions for the massive, worldwide food system, Food for Thought Worldwide (FTW) Ventures will host the Innovator Fellow in San Francisco. Click here to learn more.
Closed - THE PRODUCTION BOARD - 2019 INNOVATOR FELLOW
A technology incubator and investment holding company aiming to improve the efficiency and economics of global food and agriculture markets, The Production Board will host the Innovator Fellow in San Francisco. Click here to learn more.
Closed - BETTER FOOD VENTURES - 2019 INNOVATOR FELLOW
“Connecting people who are feeding the world with people who are changing the world through tech innovation.” International agrifood information and communications technology investors at Better Food Ventures will host a UC Davis graduate student fellow in Silicon Valley.
Better Food Ventures Fellow: Machine learning for precision epidemiology in response to livestock disease
Closed - TECHACCEL - 2019 INNOVATOR FELLOW
Technology and venture development organization TechAccel will host a UC Davis graduate student fellow at the Danforth Center for Plant Science in St Louis.
TechAccel Fellow: Leveraging natural maize metabolites to enhance crop resilience to fungal disease
Closed - FOODSHOT GLOBAL - 2018 INNOVATOR FELLOW
New investment platform, FoodShot Global (FSG), kicked off the program, by hosting a UC Davis graduate student in New York.
Inaugural Fellow: Mastering biochar for improved agricultural performance