Philadelphia, PA—The University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School are pleased to announce the establishment of the Wharton Innovation Fund, which seeks to promote the inventiveness and creativity of the academic community at the University of Pennsylvania in the design and development of new technologies or services which show promise for making a substantial impact on business or society as a whole. Founder Alberto Vitale, WG’59, describes the Fund as, “a catalyst to stimulate innovation at the School and to surface the brainpower of its students.”

The Fund provides resources for students, faculty and staff to take projects that may begin in the classroom into the world at large. It supports student initiatives that show creativity and have a large potential impact. While the Fund gives preference to student-led projects, proposals that may involve faculty, students and staff will be considered as well, particularly those that leverage the School’s inventions and thought leadership in various fields of business. Approximately $125,000 in grants is available each year. Inventions or ventures that emerge from student-led projects remain the intellectual property of the student-inventors. In instances of inventions or ventures that leverage the University’s intellectual property, any economic value will be shared among the inventors, the School and the University.

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