The University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School on Thursday announced the establishment of the Wharton Innovation Fund. According to Wharton, “The fund seeks to promote the inventiveness and creativity of the academic community at the University of Pennsylvania in the design and development of new technologies or services which show promise for making a substantial impact on business or society as a whole.”

The Fund will provides resources for students, faculty and staff to take projects that may begin in the classroom into the world at large, said a Wharton press release. “It supports student initiatives that show creativity and have a large potential impact. While the Fund gives preference to student-led projects, proposals that may involve faculty, students and staff will be considered as well, particularly those that leverage the Schools inventions and thought leadership in various fields of business,” it added.

Approximately $125,000 in grants would be available each year. Inventions or ventures that emerge from student-led projects would remain the intellectual property of the student-inventors. In instances of inventions or ventures that leverage the Universitys intellectual property, any economic value will be shared among the inventors, the School and the University.

The application process for the Wharton Innovation Fund and criteria for selection are described on the website http://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu/innovation.