$100K
Small, medium
& large firms
$90K
Start-ups
Caps apply to the MIPS share only — no cap on overall project size.
HughesNet
Alertus
Genovation
What MIPS is
The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program pairs the inventive minds of Maryland's public universities (faculty, and the graduate students who research alongside them) with companies building new products. Companies bring the product problem. Researchers bring the science. MIPS and companies co-fund the projects.
The partnership runs in both directions. Companies look to Maryland's public universities for help solving critical product-development problems; universities gain funded, market-driven projects in which faculty and their graduate students move research toward the market. MIPS provides the funding for the university side, matched by the participating company.
Run by the Idea Factory and administered at College Park, MIPS works across all 12 University System of Maryland institutions, plus Morgan State University and St. Mary's College of Maryland. The U.S. Small Business Administration recognizes MIPS as a model program for best practices in transferring technology.
Key facts
MIPS contributes up to $100,000 per phase ($90,000 for start-ups); no cap on overall project size
Academic-industrial partnerships: proposals filed jointly by the company and the faculty member, with matching funds
Faculty at all 12 USM institutions, plus Morgan State & St. Mary's
Award decisions within 60 days of the proposal deadline
Who wins
Faculty expertise, and the graduate students who research alongside them
Matching funds that stretch a limited R&D budget
First option to negotiate a commercial license on project results
Funded, market-driven projects that move research toward the market
Industry partners with real product-development problems
Support for the graduate students who work on funded projects
14,000 jobs and $54.2B in product sales generated
Annual state tax revenue that exceeds the program's lifetime cost
Four decades of company growth across the state
Made with MIPS
Quantum Sails
Matrics
Under Armour
1,050 projects.
One program.
Hy-Tek Bio
Sonavex
Northrop Grumman
Satellites, sails, electric cars, RFID, surgical devices: all developed with MIPS support. Read the company stories →
Mack Trucks
Maryland companies
Direct jobs created
Product sales generated
in annual state tax revenue from MIPS-supported companies, against a $60M total program cost over its lifetime. MIPS pays for itself every year.
Fill out a Statement of Interest
Two short forms, one for companies and one for faculty; each side has its own way in. Go to the forms →
Talk to MIPS staff
Call (301) 405-3891 or email mips@umd.edu to talk through the project with a MIPS staff member.
Match with a partner
MIPS staff find companies the right faculty investigator, and find faculty the right company.
Apply jointly in MIPStrack
The company and faculty member file one proposal together in the online application system.
Where MIPS fits
MIPS is the Scale-Up stage's anchor program in the Idea Factory ecosystem, where proven companies grow with university research behind them.