• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to footer
  • Career
  • Alumni
  • Employers
  • News

Fung Institute for Engineering LeadershipFung Institute for Engineering LeadershipFung Institute for Engineering Leadership

  • Master of Engineering
    • Master of Engineering Program
      • Engineering Departments
      • Program Design
      • Leadership Development
      • Capstone Experience
      • Career Development
      • Learn More
      • How to Apply
  • Fung Fellowship
    • Fung Fellowship

      The Fung Fellowship is shaping a new generation of entrepreneurial leaders focused on transforming health and wellness.

      • Program Overview
    • The Fung Fellowship
    • Executive & Professional Education
  • Partners
    • Partners
    • Become a Partner
    • Propose a Project
    • Recruit a Student
  • Apply
  • About
  • Career
  • Alumni
  • News
Blue, white, and gold illustration of four team members collaborating

College of Engineering FastTracking Founders Competition

Calling all inventors and entrepreneurs!

Have a new invention, product concept, or software idea?

The Berkeley Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and College of Engineering are happy to announce the FastTracking Founders Competition. This competition is an excellent opportunity for students to capitalize on their ideas and receive support to file a provisional patent. The winners of the competition will receive financial and organizational support to file a provisional patent.

Competition finalists will receive personalized, hands-on support with the patent filing process. All costs will be covered for the first stage of the patent filing process which is for a provisional patent.

Eligibility: 

  • You are a current UC Berkeley student or recent graduate in one of the College of Engineering professional master’s programs
  • Approval from your project sponsor (industry and/or faculty representative)
  • Eligible projects include: capstone, coursework, hackathons, and/or independent research
    • Team projects: aside from advisor consent, the entire team (vs. select individuals) must be in agreement to participate. Only one team member needs to apply on behalf of their team.

Info Session: 

Timeline:  

  • February – Applications open
  • April & May – Workshops
  • End of June – Application deadline 
  • July – Applications are reviewed
  • July/August – Notification of application

Tarek Zohdi headshot“Over the last 10 years of the Berkeley MEng program, there have been a variety of extremely entrepreneurial projects that weren’t taken to the next level in terms of being possibly spun off into great companies. Over the years we’ve been brainstorming with exactly how to do this….and approximately two years ago we got to the point where we were able to assemble all of the moving parts on campus to allow this to occur. It is a great leap forward!”

– Tarek Zohdi, Associate Dean of Post Baccalaureate Programs in the UC Berkeley College of Engineering

Rich Lyons headshot“From the campus perspective, this is exactly the stage of early enterprise creation that we want to support. And for a master’s graduate to have a provisional patent on their resume is a big win in any event. It’s great that CoE master’s programs can provide this.”

– Rich Lyons, UC Berkeley Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer

Application:

COE FastTracking Founders Competition

The application is currently closed. Applications typically open in early spring and are due in summer.

Last year’s winners:

2021 FastTracking Founders

Winners included:

  • MEDiRoller: Revolutionizing Low-Cost Vaccine and Drug Delivery in Low-Resource Communities
  • Water Purification Using Non-Thermal Atmospheric Plasma
  • Enhancing Minimally Invasive External Stimulation to Alleviate Osteoarthritis
Read more

Connect with the Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances (IPIRA) and Berkeley BEGIN. If you have any questions, please email Dr. Jennifer Mangold.

Berkeley College of Engineering and Fung Institute logo

Fung Institute For Engineering Leadership
Shires Hall
2451 Ridge Road Berkeley, CA 94709

Mudd Hall
1798 Scenic Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709

(510) 642-0633
funginstitute@berkeley.edu

Explore

  • Programs
  • Partners
  • Apply
  • Feedback
  • Job Opportunities

Experience

  • About
  • Career
  • Alumni
  • News
  • Donate

Connect

Copyright © 2023 Accessibility • Nondiscrimination • Privacy • Sitemap

berkeley_engineering

uc-berkeley

Copyright © 2023 Accessibility • Nondiscrimination • Privacy • Sitemap

berkeley_engineering

uc-berkeley

Prospective MEng Students

Sign up for our mailing list to receive program news and updates including information sessions, class visits and opportunities to connect with an admissions advisor.