Talent Development

Experiential learning
opportunity with a
venture capital group

Innovator Fellowship | Cohort 14 | FoodShot Global + Big Idea Ventures

Timeline: April 2023 through September 2023 (flexible start date, remote as required; 3 months part-time followed by 3 months full-time)
Application deadline: Friday, February 3 (Closed)
Two open opportunities: One with FoodShot Global and the other with Big Idea Ventures
Selection: Two Innovator Fellows will be selected to join the next cohort and work with these innovative venture capital groups. We invite you to apply to one or both opportunities.

OPPORTUNITY 1

FoodShot Global 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. FoodShot Global’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.

Each year, FoodShot Global selects a FoodShot, or a MoonShot for Better Food – an identified obstacle to a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food system. We invite entrepreneurs and innovators to submit businesses that address the FoodShot for funding consideration, while experts in business, research, policy, and academia provide issue-specific insights and nominate candidates for the GroundBreaker prize. FoodShot Global vets and reviews submissions for boldness, viability and impact to determine the best-of-class candidates. Finally, FoodShot Global and its partners award equity, debt, and prize dollars to the finalists, as well as providing post-investment capacity resources to ensure greater scale and impact.

Candidates with coursework or experience related to one or more of the following areas (or similar) are strongly desired: sustainable agriculture, climate change and drought resilience, plant breeding technologies, precision agriculture, machine learning and remote sensing technologies, fisheries and aquaculture management (including nutritional qualities of “blue” foods, waste management, disease prevention, biodiversity, seaweed farming, etc.).

Full Program Summary PDF

OPPORTUNITY 2

Big Idea Ventures is solving the World’s Biggest Challenges by supporting the World’s Best Entrepreneurs, Scientists and Engineers. Big Idea Ventures has 4 funds, one of them being the Generation Food Rural Partners Fund (size USD$124M).

The Generation Food Rural Partners fund (GFRP) commercializes university-developed intellectual property focused on food, protein, and agriculture innovation. We launch new companies, recruit seasoned management teams, and provide support from inception alongside our university and strategic partners. Our mission is to support economic development in rural communities and drive innovation in university ecosystems across the United States.

Candidates with coursework or experience related to one or more of the following areas (or similar) are strongly desired: Food Technology, Agriculture Technology or Protein Technology. Areas of expertise may include, but are not limited to:

Proteins Technology – Plant Based, Insect Based, Lab Culture, Media/Ingredients into alternative proteins, Structure Material, Replacement of Antibiotic and other feed additives.

Food Technology – Natural Ingredients (Reduction of Sugar, Reduction of Salt), Packaging, Processing, Food Safety, Water usage and reclamation

Agriculture Technology – Pheromone Based Pesticides, Soil Microbiome, Plant Microbiome, Plant waste to pulp and plastics, Hydroponic ingredients, Trait Technology – increase protein/vitamin/oil, Water usage and reclamation

Full Program Summary PDF

We invite you to apply to one or both opportunities. Deadline to apply Friday, February 3, 2023 (Application Closed)

Innovator Fellowship Overview

The Innovator Fellowship is a unique opportunity to work with our innovation partners in an immersive, hands-on experience in a food and health investment environment gaining real-world business and entrepreneurial skills while evaluating food and health startups. The program provides winning Innovator Fellows up to $50K in funding for stipend, tuition, travel, professional development and research expenses for six months.

This immersive food-tech-entrepreneurship opportunity will be offered several times yearly, with flexible start dates.

Innovator Fellowship benefits:

Quarterly opportunities
Max $50k in funding over 6 months
Learn real-world professional skills across investment, technology, research and commercialization
Gain access to key network of international industry, academic and investment partners
Become well-poised for career advancement in science or business across the world

Working with venture capital partners:

Business mentorship
Due diligence insights
Practical, real-world professional and entrepreneurial experience
Behind the scenes look into successful market entry and de-risking research for commercialization

Through a unique partnership between academia and entrepreneurs, the IIFH joins with host venture capital groups to support UC Davis POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS and later-stage PhD STUDENTS (last ~2 years) in developing hands-on entrepreneurial experience in food, agriculture and health innovation. Host venture capital groups are mission-aligned with the IIFH and help the Institute bridge the gap between the basic research creating new insights, and the development of technology, tools and companies which translate these insights into products and services used by people every day to live happier, healthier, longer lives.

Timeline

3 Months

Part-time Learning and Exposure to Venture Capital (VC) Group (Remote)

During the first half of the fellowship (months 1-3), fellows will begin work remotely, part-time with VC and will be exposed to methods, practices, culture and systems of how VCs identify investable ventures, evaluate startups in the food arena, and more. The fellow will engage in regular virtual (and occasionally in-person) meetings with the VC host. This happens simultaneously while continuing fellow’s on-campus research commitments. This time allows the fellow to become oriented with the VC landscape, role responsibilities, and be poised to begin full-time immersion with their VC host during the second half of the Fellowship (months 4-6).
3 Months

Full- Time Experiential Learning with Venture Capital Group:

During the second half of the fellowship (months 4-6), the fellow transitions to full-time work with the VC host to evaluate startups in the food system and identify investable ventures, with an anticipated onsite residency (up to $10K travel, accommodation and conference allowance provided).

Multiple Innovator Fellowship opportunities are offered throughout the year, with flexible start dates and remote as needed.

Details

Up to $50K Funding	Eligibility	Selection Criteria
Up to $50K covers: 6 month stipend (at current Postdoc salary or 50% GSR stipend for PhDs) Tuition Travel Research Conference expenses	UC Davis: PhD students in their final ~2 years of study (must have passed Qualifying Exam) Post doctoral scholars Technical fields preferred Candidates must have support from PI approving the applicant’s engagement.	Looking for candidates with: Interest in using innovation to solve food, ag or health challenges Interest in entrepreneurship and advancing innovative research or business concepts Professional drive to bring their scientific expertise to the business sector and help shape the future of the food and health industry Skill sets and knowledge of relevance to recruiting venture capital firms (see descriptions above)
Application Requirements
Please apply separately to either or both venture capital groups. Resume or CV (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 PI approving the applicant’s graduation. (max. 1 page each, PDF) Please combine items 1-3 above (in the order they are listed) into one single PDF for submission. Deadline to apply Friday, February 3, 2023

APPLICATION CLOSED

FELLOWSHIP QUESTIONS?

Our team is here to help! Feel free to send any questions regarding the Innovator Fellowship to innovatorfellowship@ucdavis.edu.

Talent Development

Experiential learning opportunity with a venture capital group

Innovator Fellowship | Cohort 14 | FoodShot Global + Big Idea Ventures

OPPORTUNITY 1

OPPORTUNITY 2

We invite you to apply to one or both opportunities. Deadline to apply Friday, February 3, 2023 (Application Closed)

Innovator Fellowship Overview

Timeline

3 Months

3 Months

Details

Up to $50K Funding

Eligibility

Selection Criteria

Application Requirements

Experiential learning
opportunity with a
venture capital group