Resources

Johns Hopkins is proud to support student innovators and entrepreneurs. As a general rule, the intellectual property (IP) associated with student inventions and startups belongs to those involved. Primary exceptions include scenarios where a staff or faculty member is a co-founder, has agreed to share their own IP, or is collaborating with students as part of a research grant.

Furthermore, FastForward U’s grants are non-dilutive, meaning that Johns Hopkins does not ask for equity or other kinds of ownership in student companies in exchange for any money, services, or advice.

Students may choose to “assign” IP to the university in exchange for Johns Hopkins' support in securing and funding patent protection and licensing the technology. As students consider this, they should weigh the longer-term implications. Founders should discuss the range of scenarios with our licensing staff and carefully evaluate the pros and cons of assigning IP to Johns Hopkins.

Pro Bono services are provided to student ventures from our professional partners. Availability is limited, please click below to email FastForward U for details.
Services include:
-Legal consultation
-Real estate consulting
-Grant consulting
-Tax and accounting office hours
-Thermo Fisher Scientific
-Microsoft advising and web hosting for student startups

Participants in the I-Corps program learn to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and gain skills in entrepreneurship through training in customer discovery and guidance from established entrepreneurs. Students innovators are welcome to apply.

This competitive fellows program allows students (undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral) to work part-time with JHTV to gain exposure to careers in technology commercialization, intellectual property, industry research collaborations, and venture creation.

Tune in to our monthly podcast featuring FastForward U's Marketing & Operations Coordinator Kerry Ingram and FastForward U's Communications Intern, Erica Avery! Each month, we sit down and chat with a new, inspiring entrepreneur and talk all things advice, lessons learned, and cool new industry trends.

Missed one of our virtual events? Tune in on-demand to all of our live webinars, workshops and events with our new, exclusive virtual video library for entrepreneurs.

Throughout the year, students at all stages can connect with our staff to meet and discuss their questions. Our team provides guidance and connects students to appropriate resources within and outside of Johns Hopkins University. Any student can sign up to get expert feedback and insight on their ventures.

FastForward U provides a weekly newsletter in order to keep students and the rest of our entrepreneurial community up-to-date on the latest entrepreneurship news, events, funding opportunities, internship opportunities and more in the greater Baltimore area and beyond.

Launch and grow a successful startup with one-on-one guidance and support from FastForward U’s extensive network of mentors, including FastForward team members, alumni and others who have industry knowledge and experience building successful startups.

Looking for work after graduation? Be sure to check out opportunities at successful startups that are associated with the larger JHTV ecosystem.