Ideas Council Featured Programs
Check out IDEAS Council's featured programs.
NSF I-Corps Training
NSF I-Corps™ training is the first step in the Path-to-Market for your product. This hands-on workshop series will guide you through the process of product development using the Lean Startup Methodology and with the help of a mentor. Participants will learn how to validate their ideas for the market, how to pitch their ideas to investors, and how to work with mentors to create an investor presentation.
The Basement
The Basement gave students a really unique opportunity to self-direct their own work and work on personal projects that they are passionate about. Rather than following someone else’s rubric and guidelines, you get to decide your scope of the work.
StartR
StartR Rady is a non-profit accelerator program for Rady School of Management students and alumni designed to provide entrepreneurs the tools needed to start and grow their businesses.
Wavemaker Lab
The Wavemaker venture program launched in September 2023 and is for very early-stage ventures in the Southern California and Baja California regions that have not yet gone to market and may not even yet be incorporated. The program offers personalized technical, legal, market and management advice from a network of world-renowned UC San Diego natural and social scientists and engineers, serial entrepreneurs, VC and angel investors, and some of the country’s best active and retired lawyers.
Medtech Accelerator
The MedTech Accelerator (MTA) supports UC San Diego students, faculty, physicians, postdoctoral scholars, alumni, and University IP licensees who are developing breakthrough health innovations. We work with teams advancing medical technologies, devices, diagnostics, digital health solutions, bio tools, AI-enabled platforms, and SaaS solutions that address unmet clinical and market needs. Our program is tailored to meet ventures at every stage — from early concept and customer discovery to regulatory strategy, reimbursement planning, and commercialization. Through structured programming, experienced industry mentorship, and access to a robust innovation network, we help founders navigate the complex clinical, regulatory, and business pathways required to bring medical innovations to patients and the market. Whether refining a value proposition or preparing for investment and scale, MTA provides the expertise, connections, and practical tools necessary to accelerate responsible, high-impact translation.
Accelerating Innovations to Market
These programs are designed to accelerate the translation of UC San Diego technologies to market and support the formation and growth of startups in the UC San Diego ecosystem.
Essentials of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Design
Essentials of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Design provides an introduction to critical knowledge and skills related to creating new business and product ideas. In this course, you will discover new ways of thinking, learn to drive innovative initiatives, and approach business challenges with a fresh perspective. By the end of the course, you will be able to understand the principles and methods of idea generation and development.
Learn more about the Essentials of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Design.
Sullivan Center for Entrepreneurship
The Sullivan Center for Entrepreneurship at the Rady School of Management was founded to support and catalyze the University of California’s innovation leadership and entrepreneurship initiatives.
