Entrepreneurship at Notre Dame

IDEA Center

Standing for Innovation, De-Risking and Enterprise Acceleration, the IDEA Center is the fundamental resource for all commercialization and entrepreneurial activities at the University of Notre Dame.  It provides the necessary space, services and expertise for idea development, commercialization, business formation, prototyping, entrepreneurial education, and student entrepreneurial efforts.  It is designed to bring the best Notre Dame faculty, staff, and student ideas and innovations to market.  The ESTEEM Program, the Office of Technology Transfer (now called the Commercialization Engine Team), the McCloskey New Venture Competition and the staff of Innovation Park joined with several new initiatives to comprise the IDEA Center, which will also help to support student entrepreneurship and innovation with curricular and extracurricular programs.

Innovation Park

At Innovation Park, ESTEEM students have the opportunity to interact with other entrepreneurs, Notre Dame faculty and researchers, alumni, and commercial mentors.  The Park serves as a site of nucleation where productive collisions between individuals such as entrepreneurs and inventors, students and investors, and subject matter experts and University staff regularly take place.

Leighton Hall, a 55,000 sq. ft. structure housing incubation facilities, state-of-the-art lab space, high-tech conference rooms and collaborative areas, as well as administrative offices, was joined in late 2017 by Quinn Hall, a 40,000 sq. ft. building. The Innovation Park facility is home to the IDEA Center.

Innovation Lab

The IDEA Center's Innovation Lab helps entrepreneurs, inventors and researchers translate their ideas into tangible products. Founded in 2018, the Innovation Lab has already helped launch a diverse collection of successful startups and products. If you have an idea, the Innovation Lab can help you take it from conception to commercialization. The Lab’s process leverages three key components: Design, Prototype, and Launch. Students can plug into one or all of these assets.  Stop by — the Lab’s door is always open!