The Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) was created as a collaboration between the State of Maryland and five Maryland academic research institutions (Johns Hopkins University; Morgan State University; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland, College Park). The program is designed to promote commercialization of research conducted in these universities and leverage each institution’s strengths.
MII was created to foster the transition of promising technologies having significant commercial potential from Qualifying Universities, where they were discovered, to the commercial sector, where they can be developed into products and services that meet identified market needs. Specifically, it is the intent of the program to foster the commercialization of such technologies through technology validation, market assessment, and the creation of start-up companies in Maryland based on a technology from a Qualified University (a University Start-up), and to accomplish this through collaborations between various schools, departments, and institutions within and among the Qualifying Universities and among other research organizations in the State.
During FY23, The MII program expanded to include opportunities at two additional comprehensive universities—Frostburg State University and Bowie State University. The collaborative efforts with these two additional universities will allow MII to expand its reach, working to bring more research to the market.