UAlbany Research and Innovators Startup Exchange (RISE) Fellows Announced

11 UAlbany students were selected for the 2025 University at Albany's Research and Innovators Startup Exchange (RISE) Fellowship program, which seeks to inspire students - particularly international students and students from underrepresented groups - to pursue careers driven by STEM research.

In a selective process, researchers pitched their projects to students, who then submitted match requests to participating researchers. The RISE cohort of selected student fellows work with one of six research teams conducting customer discovery, developing business plans and creating pitch decks over the course of 8 weeks. The first four weeks of the fellowship is focused on customer discovery through UAlbany's NSF Innovation I-Corps program. Fellows also learn about STEM-based academic research projects and explore business strategies to reduce the risks of commercializing that research. Through this practical educational experience, participants engage in the innovation and commercialization processes related to real STEM-based research projects. The program culminates in a demo day, where teams will present their pitches.

Selected fellows will also receive a stipend as part of the program, made possible by a UAlbany Strategic Allocation of Resources (StAR) Grant awarded to the Office of Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Industry Partnerships (OEDEIP).

The UAlbany Innovation Center's Research and Innovators Startup Exchange (RISE) is a collaborative entrepreneurship program that takes research from concept to commercialization. RISE matches researchers with students, and students with researchers, to create entrepreneurship teams that bring research-driven innovations to the commercial market. While the Innovation Center - a business incubator located inside the University at Albany's Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex (ETEC) building - provides all the resources and guidance RISE teams need to succeed.