Annoucning the Promoting Emerging Entrepreneurs in Robotics Fellowship
InnovatePGH, Carnegie Mellon University To Leverage Build Back Better Regional Challenge Funding To Create Opportunities in Tech
The Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) New Economy Collaborative has launched a new fellowship to meet a critical need to expand opportunities for all in technology.
Created by InnovatePGH and in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, Women In Tech PGH and the Equity Impact Center, the Promoting Emerging Entrepreneurs in Robotics (PEER) Fellowship will support groups and communities historically underrepresented in technology fields, connect them with mentorship and learningopportunities, and prepare Fellows for leadership positions and/or commercial success within the automationand robotics field.
“By acknowledging the challenges faced by these technologists, we can create better programs that supportparticipants from the ground up.
With support from community partners, organizations, and anchoring institutions, we can set the standard forequitable opportunities in robotics and automation”
The funding organization, SWPA New Economy Collaborative, was established in 2022 to formulate thePittsburgh region’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) grant proposal, which included input frommore than 90 regional partners from the private and public sectors, philanthropy, labor, education, and theeconomic development community. As one of the 21 BBBRC award recipients, the group is now overseeing theimplementation of the proposal’s five projects utilizing the $62.7 million grant, including the PEER Fellowship.
“The PEER Fellowship is the first of its kind in our nation, and it will intentionally expand underrepresented entrepreneurs’ participation in robotics and AI, industries that are quickly becoming the drivers of our economy and society.
Carnegie Mellon is pleased to help launch this bold new initiative in our region with InnovatePGH. Together, we envision this program becoming a model that other regions and research universitiesacross the country can follow to create economic opportunities for entrepreneurs in their communities.”
Through a rigorous, year-long and entrepreneur-focused curriculum, fellows will take pre-selected courses fromCMU’s Robotics Institute, Heinz College for Information Systems and Public Policy, and Tepper School ofBusiness to prepare them for careers in early-stage companies in the region. Fellows will also receive a monthlyliving and housing stipend.
“We believe that diversity fuels innovation, and the PEER Fellowship is a testament to our commitment tobuilding a more inclusive future for the robotics ecosystem in Pittsburgh.”
In addition to funding through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, the PPG Foundation Grants Program awarded InnovatePGH $25,000 to support the first year of the fellowship.
The fellowship application is free and open to current or former residents of southwestern Pennsylvania, who have completed their bachelor's degree prior to the beginning of the fellowship in Fall 2023 and have a background or interest in technology and/or automation and robotics.
For more information, or to apply to the Fellowship, visit www.peerfellowship.com