Are you serious about startups? Do you want to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into a reality? Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X is a perfect place to start. 

CREATE-X is an institutional initiative to grow students’ entrepreneurial confidence. The initiative focuses on three distinct categories of programs, occurring successively, that can lead students from an idea all the way to launching their company.

Startup Summer is the program’s culminating 12-week internship program for students and recent graduates that can be accompanied by up to $20,000 in funding support. Startup Summer’s initial application deadline is Nov. 10. However students may opt to start with Startup Lab, a three-credit-hour “free” elective, occurs first. The course teaches evidence-based entrepreneurship and customer discovery. Startup Lab will be available for the spring semester as a computer science special topics course.

Idea 2 Prototype (I2P) offers up to six hours of undergraduate research course credit for student teams to build their working prototypes. Grants for materials and supplies are available for each team. I2P is open to all majors and interdisciplinary teams are encouraged to apply.

Startup Summer is the culmination of CREATE-X. Teams must apply to join Startup Summer. Accepted teams receive space, grant money (up to $20,000), mentorship, curriculum, intellectual property protection, and visibility. Alumni and industry veterans serve as mentors for the teams. No more than 20 to 25 teams of four people maximum will be accepted into Startup Summer 2016. 

Atlanta entrepreneur and College of Computing Advisory Board Member Chris Klaus provided significant funding for CREATE-X. He believes in finding unique ways to encourage student entrepreneurship.

“Georgia Tech is expanding its culture from ‘becoming a great engineer’ to creating new opportunities on the bleeding edge of new problem spaces,” said Klaus. “CREATE-X will provide the foundation to launch ideas into real, valuable companies that allow students to realize their dreams and ambitions.

Likewise, the College of Computing is partnering with CREATE-X to help instill entrepreneurial confidence in students.

“Computing is now at the forefront of all new developments,” Essa said. “The College of Computing is engaging with CREATE-X's efforts to provide pathways for computing students to bring their own brand of creative skills to create new efforts.”