Werth Innovators Leadership Development

Werth Innovators Leadership Development Program

WILD is a scholarship and entrepreneurial leadership program for UConn’s undergraduate students looking to grow their mindsets and skillsets. Werth Innovators are student ambassadors for entrepreneurship and innovation at UConn who play a central role in building interest and participation in UConn’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

How to Apply

Applications for the next F3 cohort will open August 26th, 2022 and will close at midnight on Sunday, September 11th, 2022. The F3 cohort is only open to incoming first-year students who identify as female, being traditionally underrepresented within the field of entrepreneurship. Learn More about F3
Apply For the '22-'23 F3 Cohort

Applications for the next cohort of Werth Innovators opens on March 31st, 2023. Interested students who will be a sophomore or junior during the academic year of 2023-2024 may apply before the deadline of midnight on Sunday, April 16th, 2023. Students will be asked to participate in an interview. The application consists of short answers and video/photo submissions.

Who Should Apply?

Students across all majors interested in building and growing their skills, confidence and leadership experiences while exploring the world of entrepreneurship and growing their network should consider applying. The value a student gains as a Werth Innovator is defined by the student. Each student has unique goals, ideas or projects to pursue and The Werth Institute provides personalized support in the forms of goal setting, skill-building guidance, networking opportunities, mentorship, leadership and ambassadorship opportunities. Students are selected based upon their innovative projects, entrepreneurial mindsets, drive to create change, and interest in increasing student involvement in entrepreneurship and innovation at the university.

Why Should I Apply?

Being a Werth Innovator means you will have access to unique life-transformative opportunities and be a proud member of one of the nation’s leading entrepreneurial leadership development programs. Benefit highlights include:

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Community

Join the greater community of existing interdisciplinary Werth Innovator UConn students and alum, meet like-minded people to collaborate, ideate, and connect with, and grow your network through friends of The Werth Institute and experienced alum.

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Experiences

Change your career a life trajectory through gaining entrepreneurial experiences and skills. Participate in unique opportunities, trips and events reserved for Werth Innovators. Set personal academic, career and passion project or interest-based goals and build your individualized plan to gain skills and experiences towards achieving set goals.

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Growth

Earn scholarship* money, fellowship opportunities or summer internships through active participation in WILD programming and mentorship.

*Students selected in the spring (rising sophomores and juniors) receive a $3k scholarship in January of their next academic year. Students selected in the fall (F3 cohort for first-year students) receive a $4k paid summer internship before their sophomore year and a $3k scholarship in January of their sophomore year. Students must be enrolled full-time and be in good-standing during the full academic year in order to receive their scholarship funds.

Werth Innovator

Werth Innovators are student ambassadors for entrepreneurship and innovation at UConn who play a central role in building interest and participation in UConn's entrepreneurial ecosystem. They are selected annually from a pool of rising sophomore and junior applicants and receive a $3,000 scholarship and access to unique, transformative experiences during their remaining years at UConn. Werth Innovators become leaders through mentorship, networking, community and skill building. Accepted students join a close-knit network of successful and innovative peers and alum. There has currently been over seventy-five Werth Innovators selected since the inception of the program in 2018, with the first cohort recently graduated in the spring of 2021. Students are selected based upon their innovative projects, entrepreneurial mindsets, drive to create change, and interest in increasing student involvement in entrepreneurship and innovation at the university.

F3 Cohort

The Werth Innovator F3 Cohort pilot launched in 2020 to address the gender gap that exists in the business world when it comes to female-founded ventures. This cohort of Werth Innovators was selected at the beginning of the fall semester from a pool of first-year female identifying students. Based on the initial success of F3, an additional cohort has been added in the fall of 2021 open to traditionally underrepresented populations within entrepreneurship. While modeled after WILD, this cohort focuses on building self-confidence through early mentorship and peer networking at the beginning of their college career. At the end of the first year, each student is compensated $4k for launching their own initiative, product or company during their full-time summer internship at the Werth Institute. F3 students receive a $3k scholarship during their sophomore year and continue engagement through WILD programming.

“Once a Werth Innovator, Always a Werth Innovator”

 

101

Werth Innovators selected to date (since 2018)

Awarded over

$372k

in scholarships to Werth Innovators (since 2018)

Over

40+

majors represented across 7 schools

 

51%

of 2021 spring graduates worked for an entrepreneurial-related company or started their own venture

Werth Innovators in the News