Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams

Posted on 06. Nov, 2008 by Charles Tsai in Tech-Partners, Technology

Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams is a national grants initiative of the Lemelson-MIT Program to foster inventiveness among high school students.

InvenTeams composed of high school students, teachers and mentors are asked to collaboratively identify a problem that they want to solve, research the problem, and then develop a prototype invention as an in-class or extracurricular project. Grants of up to $10,000 support each team’s efforts.

InvenTeams was launched in 2002 as a pilot program that awarded grants to three New England high school teams for the 2002-03 academic year. The initiative has expanded each year since its inception, and in the fall of 2007 it awarded 16 InvenTeams grants.

InvenTeams Mission

EXCITE high school students about science, math, engineering, entrepreneurship and invention
EMPOWER students through problem solving
ENCOURAGE a sustainable culture of invention in schools and communities

The InvenTeams experience is intended to generate excitement about the rewarding process of identifying a problem or need, brainstorming solutions, and working hands-on to develop a prototype. “Learning by doing” is a central tenet of InvenTeams. Students are exposed to current engineering design methods and teamwork.

InvenTeams projects empower students to work collaboratively on a problem and create an environment ripe for “Eureka!” moments, where answers are discovered and lessons are learned.

2010 InvenTeams Application Timeline
(Grants for the 2009-2010 academic year)