Idea & Innovation Society
AN INNOVATION COMMUNITY FOR SELECTED FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS
SPONSORED BY
About the idea & innovation society
The Idea & Innovation Society is an exclusive group of motivated first-year students who are idea creators, innovators, or entrepreneurs! Join a community of passionate, creative individuals who are ready to make their mark at UNH and beyond, while benefitting from personalized support, mentorship, and much more.
The Society was created to provide students with the opportunity to be at the forefront of the idea and innovation community on campus, while gaining unique benefits through UNH's nationally-recognized Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter). It embraces first-year students from all colleges, majors, and backgrounds and provides a network of like-minded individuals with whom to connect, collaborate, share ideas and resources, and help you run faster with your ideas and innovations.
We are looking for idea creators and innovative thinkers from any and all majors at UNH: music or dance, engineering or business, chemistry or history, Spanish or equine sciences, biology or communication science disorders… good ideas come from all places!
The Society has a permanent home at UNH’s Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter) on campus. The ECenter is not part of any one college to intentionally provide opportunities for all students on campus to interact and work together.
The Society is an invitation-only community. It is NOT a scholarship program.
SHOULD YOU APPLY TO THE SOCIETY?
Before submitting your application, please review the following criteria to determine if you qualify.
- Are you a first-time first year student for Fall 2023?
- Are you passionate about ideas and solving real-world problems?
- Do you want to connect with a network of like-minded UNH students and alumni committed to ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship?
- Have you already started a business, organization, or non-profit?
- If not, do you want to advance a new venture, an early-stage idea, or have an interest in innovation and entrepreneurship?
- Do you want to be part of a dynamic environment at UNH?
If you answered "yes" to the questions above, we encourage you to apply!
Students from all colleges, majors, and academic interest are welcome. We believe that ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship is a mind-set and a skill set that can be applied across all majors and future careers.
Note: this is NOT a scholarship program
SOCIETY MEMBER BENEFITS
- Exclusive Idea & Innovation Society Fund
Offering access to $250 of seed funding to help you take your idea to the next level.
- Semi-monthly Society meetings with the team
Share and discuss, get feedback on ideas, and find the best resources for your requirements
- 1:1 coaching for your current or new idea or innovation
- Introduction to a mentor from the ECenter Wildcatalysts Mentor Network that best matches your venture
Most mentors are UNH alumni
- Exclusive Idea & Innovation Society T-shirt
- Exclusive Idea & Innovation Society kick-off welcome party at the ECenter
- Private small group interactions with ECenter keynote speakers, as possible
- Ticket and transportation to the annual BU IDEA Conference
- Additional 1:1 coaching for UNH prize competitions
Including the Social Venture Innovation Challenge (Fall) and Holloway Prize Competition (Spring). 1:1 and group preparation and coaching offered
- Opportunity to apply to the NSF I-Corps program that includes $3,000 funding for customer discovery
- Opportunity to apply for Social Innovation Internships and Semester in the City through the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise
MEMBER REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS
- Attend and engage in Society meetings and the kick-off party
- Share your experiences with Society members and ECenter community
- Work on current or new ideas or ventures over the course of the year
- If connected with an ECenter mentor, be responsive and professional for the duration of the mentorship
- Have fun and strive to make a difference!
UNH's Entrepreneurship Center
The Idea & Innovation Society is managed by Ian Grant, Executive Director of UNH’s Entrepreneurship Center (known as the ECenter on campus). He was hired to build the ECenter in 2016 and has vast experience as a serial entrepreneur. He started three companies (bootstrapped and venture backed, all acquired) and led innovation teams in Fortune 100 companies.
The ECenter won an international award for the "Most Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center in 2017” and is the heart of all activities on campus around ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
The ECenter is co-curricular only (meaning: it complements your academic experience at UNH and is not part of any major requirements for any program) and provides a wide range of resources for students including co-working space and a makerspace. We also offer many programs such as a Summer Seed Grant, $25,000 i2 Passport Program, paid internships at start-ups, bootcamps, speakers series, 1:1 coaching, and more.
About the ECenter
About the Idea & Innovation Society
What our Society Members Have to Say
By joining the Idea and Innovation Society, I was immediately immersed into a community of diligent and hard working individuals that were passionate about pursuing entrepreneurship. The events that I attended through The Society helped me to cultivate thoughts, ideas, and relationships that have collectively constituted my successful collegiate experience at UNH.
Gunnar De Young '23
The Idea & Innovation Society has given me the opportunity to meet new people and participate in so many events that have helped me improve my networking skills and evolve my ideas for future projects.
Madison McEachern '23
2020-2021 SOCIETY MEMBERS
PAST SOCIETY COHORTS
More questions?
Please email your questions to idea.society@unh.edu and we will respond as quickly as we can!
UNH would like to acknowledge thank Arizona State University’s Entrepreneurship + Innovation Team for the concept support in the creation of UNH’s Idea & Innovation Society.
ECenter Quick Links