Build innovation skills: Earn a micro-certification in innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2025) — Launch Blue, a founding focus area of UK Innovate’s TRUST Hub, announced that the Innovation Training Micro-Certification is now available to all undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs seeking a high-level foundation in innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship.
Launch Blue supports students, faculty, staff and startup founders through unique training programs, which combine learning with hands-on experience. These programs support entrepreneurs and innovators with training to create and sustain successful businesses and technologies that solve real-world problems in Kentucky and beyond.
Designed for students at all levels and across all disciplines, the microcertification consists of 10 self-paced, online modules that explore how innovation happens within a university setting and how to move from idea to impact outside the university. Topics include impact research, commercialization, intellectual property and stakeholder engagement.
This training can be a significant value-add for students entering research labs. Many of the modules and programming were based on student experiences, recognizing how valuable it would have been to understand the real-world impact of academic research earlier in their journey.
“It is exciting to see undergraduates and graduate students develop a deeper appreciation for the research they are conducting and begin connecting the dots between the concepts presented in the micro-certification and their work on campus,” said Kendra Stenzel, director of Innovation Talent Development. “Whether working alongside UK Innovate to help translate innovations to impact or generating solutions in their labs that address community needs, students are experiencing firsthand how their efforts contribute to broader change.”
“I am thrilled about the launch of our innovation microcertification. Over the past year, we have engaged in extensive discussions with students, faculty, staff and alumni to understand their experiences with the innovation process here at UK,” said Laura Halligan, Launch Blue executive director. “This microcertification is designed to lay a strong foundation for anyone interested in creating and launching effective solutions to real-world problems.”
While the individual modules have proven to be a strong primer for innovators in Launch Blue’s UAccel Program, the greatest impact has been observed in students participating in research and experiential programs, such as the Commercialization and Innovation Leadership Program (CILP) and the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program (ELP).
In Spring 2025, 12 CILP students and three ELP students completed the microcertification as an introduction to innovation and commercialization, gaining a stronger understanding of how research outcomes can translate into real-world solutions.
“The Commercialization and Innovation Leadership Program shaped how I approach innovation by showing me how to turn big ideas into strategies that deliver results,” said Christopher Whitley, CILP Fellow and marketing research, analytics and business administration graduate student. “I put those skills into practice during my internship with UK Innovate and in my capstone on the Medication Administration Pursuit, applying what I learned to projects that drive collaboration, engagement and real impact.”
Whether students are beginning their research journey or looking to expand their innovation skill set, this microcertification offers a powerful first step in building the mindset and tools needed to translate ideas into impact. Sign up to learn more about job postings, resources and courses at launchblue.org/innovation-training-program.
For more information, contact Kendra Stenzel.
About TRUST Hub
The TRUST Hub, Translating Research through Universal Solutions Together, is part of UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky. It works to turn research into real-world impact through its founding focus areas: Community Health Innovation, Launch Blue, Social Innovation and the Sustainable Futures Design Lab. The hub connects university expertise with community needs to develop practical, evidence-based solutions. By fostering collaboration across disciplines and with local communities, the TRUST Hub supports innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers in addressing pressing societal challenges and creating sustainable solutions for Kentucky and beyond.
About UK Innovate
UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky drives economic, societal and entrepreneurial growth from research discoveries. Through technology commercialization, health care innovations, corporate partnerships, social innovation and economic development, UK Innovate helps researchers and employees across UK Research and UK HealthCare accelerate their ideas into use. By connecting talent, research, corporate partners and community resources, UK Innovate works to move ideas into the world faster, where they can make the greatest societal and economic impact possible. Learn more: www.research.uky.edu/ukinnovate.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.