Program Overview

What is the Crocker Program?

The Crocker Innovation Fellowship is a year-long program where students from all majors create IoT innovations that solve real-world problems. At its heart, Crocker cultivates interdisciplinary innovators—students who become lifelong problem-solvers while sparking cross-disciplinary collaboration at BYU.


The program is distinguished by expert faculty from across campus and a diverse, exceptional student cohort.

Why Interdisciplinary?

Interdisciplinary collaboration is a cornerstone of the Crocker Fellowship. Each student team includes members from a variety of disciplines:

  • Management
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Design
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Software
  • A “Wild Card” role

Students can apply to any role, regardless of their major, creating teams where every unique skill set is essential for success. This hands-on collaboration prepares students for real-world interdisciplinary work and encourages innovative thinking across fields.

“Stay the course. Trust the process. Pain validation and solution validation are key. Find a pain and nail it.”

— Former Crocker Fellow

Innovation in Action

During the Fall Semester, Crocker Fellows reflect on their internship experiences and share lessons learned with peers, a powerful way to internalize knowledge and practice leadership.

Fellows also develop innovative products or solutions with measurable impact. Each team demonstrates traction in the marketplace, and funding is available to support projects designed for firms, labs, or new ventures.

Example Outcomes:

  • Launching a new tech startup
  • Licensing a product or innovation to an existing company
  • Developing a lab-based IoT prototype ready for market

The ultimate goal of the Crocker Program is to prepare students to become innovators who change the world.

"The fellowship gave us three crucial things. First, they helped us form a diverse team of creative minds. Second, they gave us mentoring from some of the most innovative professors at the Y. Third, they gave us just enough money to get to the next step. The Crocker Innovation Fellowship was the perfect environment to realize our vision for Owlet."

— Kurt Workman, Founder of Owlet Baby Monitors