Ph.D. students who are beginning to define their thesis research can receive funding and are selected for the program by faculty and academic advisors at Georgia Tech and Emory through a competitive application process.

TI:GER is a multi-disciplinary, engaged learning program intended for students interested in understanding the innovation processes that are used in commercializing technologies. The program is a unique educational collaboration between Georgia Tech and Emory University which prepares students for the challenges of commercializing new technology and delivering innovative products to the marketplace. It is a learning experience where engineering and science PhD students are matched with Georgia Tech's College of Management MBA students and Emory University law students. These teams work together to develop an understanding of the technical, market, and legal challenges of commercializing the PhD student's primary research. A primary goal of TI:GER is to help produce fundamental research with both scientific merit and market relevance.