Dr. Maureen Dunne and Autism Community Ventures Introduce the Transition2Success Fellowship for Entrepreneurs

CHICAGO, December 9, 2020 (Newswire.com) - ​Autism Community Ventures is excited to announce that its director, Dr. Maureen Dunne, has expanded the Transition2Success Project, a unique program that offers transition grants and scholarships tied to targeted supports for high school seniors diagnosed with autism making the transition to higher education or the job market. The program is now being expanded to offer a new fellowship opportunity focused on neurodiversity and entrepreneurship.

"Unemployment and underemployment rates for neurodiverse job seekers remain exceptionally high even among those with college degrees," remarked Dunne, Founder of the Transition2Success Project. "New opportunity pathways are needed, and this new fellowship program will help support students who want to explore entrepreneurship."

The fellowship program is being announced by Dr. Dunne today as a key speaker during an online event titled, "I-CAN (Innovation, College & Neurodiversity)". I-CAN will be hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Missouri. The conference program states that, while neurodiverse students are often seen in terms of what they can't do, throughout history, people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other cognitive differences have advanced culture, science, and technological innovation.

Transition2Success Entrepreneurship Fellows will receive a $5,000 grant, along with additional resources amounting to as much as $12,000 in value, to work on building a minimal viable product, along with support, mentorship, coaching and access to powerful networks to help take an idea or vision and make it a reality. College and graduate students are eligible to apply, whether currently in school or taking a semester or gap year off to explore entrepreneurship.

"While the fellowship will likely expand in the future, we are currently focused on students (including gap year) who are neurodiverse thinkers," added Dunne.

The term neurodiversity was originally introduced by Sociologist Judy Singer and refers to a strength-based approach to differences in learning, attention, sociability, and cognition as occurring within the normal variation of brain differences within the human population.

Media Contact:
William Doyle
Email: info@transition2success.org

Source: Transition2Success Project