FastForward U—the university’s student entrepreneurship initiative within Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures—recently announced the five student startups that will receive funding this year through the Ralph S. O’Connor Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Fund.
This year, the program received 31 student applications, a group that was narrowed to 12 finalists before the final cohort was selected. Team members from the selected startups gathered last week for a welcome dinner and orientation at FastFoward R. House in North Baltimore.
“I’m really excited about the five teams we selected for the O’Connor Fund,” said Darius Graham, director of student ventures at JHTV. “They represent a broad range of novel ideas—from creating a more affordable, accessible pediatric hearing screening device for developing countries to building a new machine that combines the capabilities of a 3D printer, laser cutter, and other tools. Our efforts over the next five months will be to help these teams build upon these ideas and the work they’ve already done to bring them to life, in order to help them become viable ventures.”
Founded by Johns Hopkins alum Ralph O’Connor and his wife, Becky, the O’Connor Fund program provides each cohort member a $5,000 grant with an opportunity to earn $5,000 more by reaching certain milestones. FastForward U, the steward of the O’Connor Fund, provides a range of services, programming, mentorship, and funding opportunities to student innovators and entrepreneurs to help them develop the solutions of tomorrow, today.
View the full 2018 cohort on The Hub.
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From the lab to the market, JHTV has fostered business savvy and entrepreneurship for a decade among those seeking to commercialize research findings