Innovation Co-Lab

Co-Lab Services

• Funding and event notifications - We send monthly emails to let you know about opportunities for your organization.
• Coaching and mentorship - Our staff, mentors, and entrepreneurs in residence provide one-on-one advising to our members to help them find funding, create a sustainable business strategy, and launch their venture.
• Desk, co-working, conference, and event space - Our members get access to our incubator space at OSU-Cascades that is located in the heart of Bend, Oregon.
• Workshops - Our members get access to powerful working sessions that give them the templates to get funding, launch a product, and grow their venture - not just talk about it.
• Online Tools and Templates - Through our online learning management system, We provide access to templates, tools, and resources to organizations across Central Oregon. Also, members can submit research requests via our system.
• Service Learning Internship Collaborations - Our students perform market research, look up leads, and can even design mobile apps for clients.  Additionally our students build tools and templates to save organizations time and make it easier to launch. 

Co-Lab Amenities

Our incubator lets you blend the line between work and play like never before.  Ideal for entrepreneurs, nonpfofit managers, and students, our incubator has what you need:

• Ease of access to the resources of the OSU system
• High speed internet
• Conference rooms with audio visual equipment
• Dedicated Desks
• Flex Desks
• Mailroom
• Community Slack
• Impact Sessions
• Mentorship
• Networking events
• Online resources
• Social events
• Onsite Staff
• Bike Storage
• Showers
• Cleaning Services
• Views of the Deschutes River
• Easy river trail access

JOIN THE INCUBATOR OR TAKE A TOUR

Student Consultancy

The Co-Lab helps new and existing ventures by creating useful tools, delivering interesting seminars, and advising new companies. But this work provides a significant opportunity for students to get real-world experience and prepare them for the workforce.

To prepare students to be innovative doers within the workforce, we:

• bring together students and a robust network of industry experts (“Co-Lab-orators”) to work together on a recurring basis.
• teach students what it takes to make a new venture successful,
• give students the opportunity to prove their technical skills by working on real-problems at startups or in the community,
• teach students new skills and help them with their resume
• give potential employers and students an opportunity to work together and network.

For Members

Incubator members get access to our pool of interns and may work with them on projects. Student consultancy projects vary based on the needs of the client.  For example, students can:

• develop prototypes for mobile apps or web apps
• record, edit, and process video.
• perform market research
• interview potential customers and perform customer discovery
• generate sales leads
• help with social media or content marketing
• research funding opportunities and requirements

For Public Benefit

In addition to the above, donors to the program can sponsor projects to benefit our community.  For example:

• Startup Resources:  OSU-Cascades students can be utilized to generate content for in-person workshops as well as online content.  For example, OSU-Cascades’ students created the Oregon Startup Checklist – a “centralized, online resource that helps entrepreneurs find help, funding, and tools. Learn more about this project.

• Hackathons:  OSU-Cascades computer science students participated in a hackathon event in January to help the nonprofit Guardian Group counter online sex trafficking.  Learn more about this project.
• Community Apps:  OSU-Cascades natural resources, biology and computer science faculty members Ann Petersen and Yong Bakos worked with OSU-Cascades students to develop the Ecotone app.  Learn more about this project.
• Community Research Projects:  OSU-Cascades students can be utilized to research local issues, perform interviews, and more.

LEARN MORE