Case Western Reserve University’s Program to Boost Women Entrepreneurs in STEM

The Women in Science and Engineering Roundtable (WISER) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland has established the Program Rewarding Innovation in STEM Entrepreneurship (PRISE) to support undergraduate women interested in STEM innovation, discovery, and creativity.

PRISE was developed in collaboration with partners from CWRU LaunchNET, Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box], and the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women. The program aims to address the underrepresentation of women in entrepreneurial ventures. According to the Association of Women in Science, less than 4 percent of venture capital is awarded to women.

The students involved with PRISE will be provided with support to pursue entrepreneurship during their undergraduate years. Through the program, the participating women will learn about processes of entrepreneurship and innovation, create a service, process, system or product that solves a societal problem and introduce it into the marketplace, participate in workshops on how to be a successful entrepreneur, and receive mentoring from industry professionals.

The program includes four weeks of training in the summer months. This phase is focused on intensive learning and idea development in order to move from an idea to a minimum viable product. Each week, PRISE students will be expected to spend 10 hours in related programming, one-on-one coaching, and business development, with an additional five hours of flexible professional development. From September to April, PRISE students are expected to spend at least five hours per month meeting with mentors and coaches, and attending workshops and networking events. In May, the students will launch their project into the marketplace with ongoing support from the university.