THE NIS ROBOTICS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Applicants must be 18+, Nebraska residents, and have regular transportation access to Nebraska Innovation Studio.

Not at all! While robotics is a key focus, the program is designed to support a wide range of innovative projects related to automation, technology, and creative problem-solving. Whether you're passionate about robotics, automation, design, or another technical area, we provide the tools, mentorship, and resources for you to bring your ideas to life.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and skill levels. Even if you're new to robotics, we'll support you in building the skills you need to succeed. At the same time, we encourage participants to push the boundaries of their projects and aim for tangible, high-impact results. So, whether you're a beginner or a seasoned roboticist, this program is built to help you grow and thrive.

Successful Applicants must maintain active involvement in the program to continue receiving their benefits. With eleven events planned through the course of the program, this equates to approximately two mandatory in-person events per month. These events include an introduction to program resources, one-on-one mentorship opportunities, a monthly speaker series, periodic project check-ins, and a final showcase of fellows’ progress – with weekly office hours and open build time at NIS in between. The rest is up to you - you work at your own pace.

As a ballpark figure, we expect that to equate to approximately 3 hours per week.

1x - Kickoff Gathering: Introduction to the program, facilities, and resources
3x - Special Guest Sessions: A monthly discussion with nationally-known experts in robotics, embedded systems, and automation
2x - Progress Presentations: Two opportunities for fellows to share their work and receive feedback from peers and mentors
2x - One-on-One Mentorship Sessions: Opportunities for one-on-one conversation between fellows and mentors to provide guidance and feedback
2x - Networking Events: Access to key industry professionals, potential employers, and other innovators within Nebraska’s Robotics Community.
1x - Showcase: A final public event where fellows discuss their progress with a wider audience, including industry partners and media

Online applications will be open until December 8th. Finalist Candidates will then be invited to participate in a brief live interview via Zoom the week of December 16th. The 2025 NIS Robotics Fellows will then be announced in January 2025.

The focus of this program is to support the builder - not the project. We don't care what type of project work you pursue during the course of this program. It can be a thesis/capstone, a robotics idea you've wanted to develop, an existing element of your research, or something you saw online that you wanted to build. It can even just be a general idea or subject you wish to pursue. However, we do want to make sure that you have a concrete concept or specific interest area to explore in order to maximize your use of the program's resources. 

A fellow’s project complexity or success is not the primary measure of program success. Instead, you will be sharing your work and development at key points throughout the program. By sharing your process of innovation, fellows will create opportunities for collaboration and refine essential skills in articulating your work to diverse audiences. While technical prowess is valued, the key metric for candidates’ success will be their engagement with NIS members, staff, and each other.

Program staff can provide guidance or advice as needed, but will not control the project’s content. In the meantime, as NIS is developing a robotics lab space, fellows will have the opportunity to provide input on potential equipment and facilities beneficial to their work. 

With eleven events tentatively scheduled over the core program period, active engagement is critical. After an initial warning, an independent support meeting will be conducted and failure to attend will result in discontinuation from the program.

The unique focus of the program on robotics, openness to non-academic participants, and lack of specialized project requirements ensures that existing programs are complementary, not competitive. In fact, fellows could apply with their capstone project as their main focus as work. Fellows are provided with resources – enabling them to pursue any project, existing or otherwise – to ensure that the program can augment any builder’s success.

Fellows will be evaluated via online application and interview, with communication skills, motivation and commitment, technical proficiency, and an innovative mindset all factoring in to the final decision process.

Program outcome narratives are the primary driver for the fellowship’s first iteration, in order to help justify future program offerings, generate case studies, and illustrate the impact of HRC efforts writ large. In evaluating program success, each fellow’s engagement and participation, project impact, post-program outcomes, and feedback from stakeholders (via existing IRB-approved methodologies) will all be considered.