Join a Legacy.

There is a rich and arduous, yet persistently triumphant history associated with the district along Jefferson Street in Nashville, Tennessee.

Images from: The Tennessean

Once existing as a pathway that joined a nearby plantation to the Cumberland River, to becoming an intellectual thoroughfare that was anchored by three historically-black academic centers of influence— Fisk University, Tennessee State University, and Meharry Medical College— the culture and community of Jefferson Street is not only conspicuously responsible for launching Nashville into a city renowned for its entertainment, Music City, but surreptitiously known for being the historic epicenter of African American civil rights, intellectualism, and entrepreneurship.

After previous political and systemically-motivated decisions were made to physically divide and disperse both the economic and civil rights activity of the community, the Jefferson Street District is now in the midst of a cultural renaissance, reimagining its enduring legacy within the present day.

In a demonstrative step to contribute to the intellectual and entrepreneurial revitalization of the Jefferson Street District, Fisk University, Tennessee State University, and Meharry Medical College have collaborated with Jackson State University and Vanderbilt University to host the Jefferson Street NSF I-Corps Regional Cohort.

The Jefferson Street I-Corps Regional Cohort, a Mid-South I-Corps Hub regional program funded by the National Science Foundation, is designed to train and transform innovators, hailing from the academic institutions along Jefferson Street, into technology entrepreneurs, who will commercialize their transformative technologies into businesses that will stimulate the economy, create jobs for the community, impart positive value change, and advance efforts to return the Jefferson Street District into, and beyond, the intellectual and economic thoroughfare of old.

Who is this program for?

The Jefferson Street Cohort is a free, 3-session virtual program beginning on September 7th and running through September 21st. The program is based on both pre-recorded content and assignments and live discussion sessions and office hours. It is for STEM entrepreneurs who are ready to build a business out of their great ideas.

The culture will be collaborative and steeped in the foundations and ideas of inclusive innovation. Cohort members will encourage and support each other in their journey towards nurturing their ideas towards a validated solution.

Instructors and mentors will maintain a supportive atmosphere while simultaneously providing an environment which pushes, challenges, and questions each participant in the hope that they will quickly learn, adapt and thrive.

Applications close on August 24th, 2023. Apply today!