The Rockwell Fellowship in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Robert Morris University

The purpose of the Rockwell Fellowship in Entrepreneurship and Innovation is to:

  • Support students who are building entrepreneurial ventures and initiatives by providing a rich environment of knowledge, practice, coaching, and opportunity. 
  • Cultivate courageous and thoughtful innovative forerunners whose own entrepreneurial pursuits will stir critical thinking and creative action across RMU’s campus. 
  • Visibly position extraordinary entrepreneurial student champions to be rising leaders in and contributors to the region’s innovation ecosystem

The Rockwell Fellowship is a 2-year scholarly commitment of engaged learning and  practice in entrepreneurship. Ten (10) students will be selected to receive a $6000 tuition scholarship, $3000/year, for their junior and senior years of college respectively.

Rockwell Fellowship Application

Contact Us

Eliada Griffin-EL, PhD
Associate Professor of Management 
Founding Co-Director of the Rockwell Fellowship in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
griffinel@rmu.ed

Prasad Vemala, Ph.D.    
Interim Dean, School of Business
vemala@rmu.edu

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Certificate

At RMU, we believe anyone can be entrepreneurial, whether you want to own your own business or work for a big bank or accounting firm, whether you want to be an engineer, a nurse, or a teacher -- you name it. That’s why RMU offers the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is open all undergraduate students, regardless of major, and prepares them to be innovators either as business owners or entrepreneurial employees.

Learn More: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Certificate

Fellowship Program

Rockwell Fellows would be key learners and contributors to the following core components of the program: 

RMU Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Year 1 and 2 of the Fellowship)

  • The certificate serves as the curricular platform of the fellowship through which Fellows learn key skill sets, tools, and knowledge frameworks towards developing and building their ventures. 
  • Fellows will be exposed to an overview of entrepreneurial thinking, methods of innovation, psychology of selling, and hands-on learning opportunities through elected internships via the initial academic offerings of the Certificate. 
  • The Business Model Lab, which culminates the certificate, provides a hands-on, experiential lab equipped with opportunities for prototyping, networking, pitching, and exposure to key actors in Pittsburgh’s entrepreneurial scene.  

Rockwell Venture Growth Pitch (Year 1 of Fellowship) 

  • Fellows present their entrepreneurial concepts to an audience of entrepreneurs, representatives of support organizations,  professionals, and peers. 
  • Members of the entrepreneurial community will be attracted to the Fellow’s ideas of their choice to create a personalized venture ecosystem of coaches, connectors, and various forms of capital. 

RockWELL of Ideas Speaker Series (Year 1-2 of the Fellowship Program)

  • Inspired by convenings of inspirational thought such as the Aspen Ideas Festival or Ted Talks, The RockWell of Ideas is a reservoir of creative and unique insights from innovators across the region (or country), led and developed by the Rockwell Fellows. 
  • Each Fellow is to identify an iconic local entrepreneur, ideally a person who resonates with their entrepreneurial ambition, and invite them to campus to hold a lecture, fireside chat, interactive session, or or any experience which the Fellow will plan and curate for the campus and community. 
  • The Rockwell Speaker’s contribution will be captured on film or podcast, with support from RMU’s Academic Media Center, to make available to the campus and public. 
  • The intentional connection with innovative leaders is intended to broaden and enrich the Fellows personal, professional, and entrepreneurial networks. 

Rocket Launch Demo Day (Year 2 of the Fellowship Program) 

  • Rockwell Fellows host a day long symposium within which they demonstrate their innovation and/or share its development to date.
  • The audience is comprised of members of the university, innovation community, and general Pittsburgh region. 
  • Fellows are encouraged to make connections with organizations that will enable them to move their venture to the next stage. 

Rockwell Fellows Cohort 1