The Ohio State University Center for Innovation Strategies

What The Ohio State University Center for Innovation Strategies does

The Center for Innovation Strategies (CIS) is an academic unit within the Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, based in Columbus, Ohio. CIS operates as a facilitator and connector between corporate organizations and the university's innovation talent pipeline, rather than as a commercial product company. Its flagship offering, the OnRamp program (launched in 2019), enables organizations to validate and de-risk early-stage innovation concepts by leveraging student interns; over 120 concepts have been explored by more than 600 student interns through this mechanism. The Center runs four primary program tracks: Undergraduate Programs and Graduate Programs (teaching and applying innovation skills to Fisher students), Community Programs (broad ecosystem-building), and Corporate Sponsor & Partner Programs (talent and concept co-development with corporate members).

The Center's operating model rests on a corporate sponsor ecosystem comprising 18 named partners across three tiers — four founding members (Red Fuse by Cardinal Health, Safelite AutoGlass, J.M. Smucker, Wendy's), six core partners (Honda Research, Nationwide, United Healthcare, Coca-Cola, NASA, AEP), and eight minor partners (Worthington Industries, Greif, Ingage, Midmark, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Hagedorn, Visa, Parallax). Distribution and student recruitment rely entirely on Ohio State's institutional infrastructure: the university and Fisher websites, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), and internal academic referrals. CIS has a permanent staff of 7 and is funded as a public state university entity — no commercial revenue, pricing model, or funding rounds are disclosed, and there is no independent ownership or external investor base. A Spring 2026 Sustainability Tech Push cohort signals continued thematic broadening of the concept-validation format.

Name

The Ohio State University Center for Innovation Strategies

Legal name

The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business

Website

https://cis.osu.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Center for Innovation Strategies (CIS) is an Ohio State University academic center that runs the OnRamp program and related tracks to help corporate organizations validate innovation concepts using Fisher College student interns and talent pipeline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting & Academic Programs

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Test Strategy & Prep Integrated with Admissions (EDAFAMAE)

Keywords

• Innovation consulting
• Student-driven innovation
• Corporate partnerships
• Academic innovation programs
• Innovation validation

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Center for Innovation Strategies (CIS) is an academic center at Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, that facilitates innovation efforts for organizations by connecting corporate partners with student talent. Its core offering is the OnRamp program, which helps organizations validate and de-risk innovation concepts through student intern involvement, with over 120 concepts explored and 600+ student interns engaged. The center also offers undergraduate, graduate, community, and corporate sponsor programs focused on innovation skills and ecosystem building.

Product overview

The Center for Innovation Strategies (CIS) is an academic center within Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, not a traditional technology product company. It offers a portfolio of innovation programs designed to facilitate and support organizational innovation efforts. The core offerings include: OnRamp Programs (which help organizations validate and de-risk innovation concepts through student interns), Undergraduate and Graduate Programs (teaching innovation skills), Community Programs (building the innovation ecosystem), and Corporate Sponsor & Partner Programs (developing innovation talent for organizations). The center acts as a facilitator and connector, engaging with partners to influence the talent pipeline and connect with the broader innovation ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OnRamp Programs A program that helps organizations validate and de-risk innovation concepts through student intern involvement. Over 120 concepts have been explored by over 600 student interns. Audience: corporate organizations seeking innovation concept validation.
• Undergraduate Programs Innovation skills learning and application programs designed for undergraduate students at Fisher College of Business. Audience: undergraduate students seeking innovation education.
• Graduate Programs Innovation skills learning and application programs designed for graduate students at Fisher College of Business. Audience: graduate students seeking experiential learning in innovation.
• Community Programs Programs designed to build the broader innovation ecosystem through community engagement and connection. Audience: innovation community members and ecosystem partners.
• Corporate Sponsor & Partner Programs Programs designed to help organizations develop their innovation talent through collaboration with the Center, including founding members such as Red Fuse by Cardinal Health, Safelite AutoGlass, J.M. Smucker, and Wendy's. Audience: corporate organizations seeking innovation talent development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 120 innovation concepts explored through OnRamp programs
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered founding, core and minor.

• Red Fuse by Cardinal HealthfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member sponsor of the Center for Innovation Strategies, providing corporate sponsorship for innovation programs and student talent development initiatives.
• Safelite AutoGlassfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member sponsor supporting the Center's innovation ecosystem and student internship programs.
• J.M. Smucker CompanyfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member sponsor contributing to innovation strategy programs and talent pipeline development at the Center.
• Wendy'sfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member sponsor supporting innovation initiatives and student engagement programs at CIS.
• Honda ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner sponsor engaged in research collaboration and innovation talent development with the Center.
• NationwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting innovation programs and student talent initiatives at the Center.
• United HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor engaged with the Center's innovation ecosystem and talent development programs.
• Coca-ColacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner participating in innovation initiatives and ecosystem development at CIS.
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment/Research partner supporting innovation research and development collaboration.
• AEP (American Electric Power)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor engaged in energy sector innovation collaboration with the Center.
• Worthington IndustriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner sponsor contributing to innovation ecosystem development.
• GreifminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor engaged with the Center's innovation programs.
• IngageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner sponsor involved in innovation talent development initiatives.
• MidmarkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting healthcare-related innovation programs.
• Scotts Miracle-GrominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner sponsor engaged in consumer products innovation collaboration.
• HagedornminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting innovation ecosystem initiatives.
• VisaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial technology partner engaged with innovation programs at the Center.
• ParallaxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partner contributing to innovation ecosystem development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Wharton Entrepreneurship (University of Pennsylvania): University-based center offering experiential innovation programs and corporate partnerships, directly comparable to CIS's corporate sponsor and experiential learning offerings.
• Kellogg Innovation Network (Northwestern): Business-school-affiliated corporate innovation network that uses student-driven projects to address partner challenges, structurally similar to CIS's OnRamp program.
• Harvard Innovation Labs (i-lab): University-hosted innovation hub that supports students and faculty founders and engages corporate sponsors, mirroring CIS's facilitator/connector model between academic talent and corporate innovation needs.
• IC2 Institute (UT Austin): University-based innovation institute that connects corporate sponsors with faculty and students for innovation research, structurally analogous to Fisher CIS's corporate sponsorship model.
• Berkeley Haas Innovation Center: Business school innovation center offering corporate-sponsored student projects and talent pipeline programs, comparable to CIS's undergraduate and graduate innovation programs.
• Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship: University-wide innovation initiative that links students with corporate partners on innovation projects, mirroring the OnRamp concept validation model.
• MIT Sloan School of Management - Innovation Programs: Business school innovation and corporate engagement programs that pair corporate partners with student talent, paralleling Fisher CIS's OnRamp and corporate sponsor programs.
• Stanford d.school: University-based innovation and design center that facilitates cross-disciplinary innovation programs and corporate partnerships, directly comparable to Fisher CIS's role of connecting students with corporate innovation challenges.
• Babson Center for Innovation: Business school innovation center that connects students with corporate innovation challenges, functioning as a talent-pipeline and concept-validation partner similar to CIS.
• InQbation (UVA Darden): Business school innovation center providing student-driven corporate innovation projects, comparable to CIS's OnRamp and corporate partner programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/fisherosu
• Facebookfacebook.com/FisherOSU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-innovation-strategies
• Instagraminstagram.com/fisherosu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Ohio State University Center for Innovation Strategies