PreScouter


PreScouter was founded in 2010 in Evanston, IL by four Northwestern University graduate students (two MBAs and two PhDs). The idea for the company was sparked by a seemingly avoidable tragedy in China and the struggles of a Northwestern alumnus – an R&D Director at a medical device company – in accessing university research.

Initially, the concept was to connect corporate R&D labs to research coming from academia. However, after completing pilot projects with Kraft Foods, UOP (Honeywell) and DSM, the founders realized that corporate leaders were more interested in a broader scope of services, one that included technology landscapes and in-depth investigations of relevant areas of interest, including innovative startups and emerging technologies. Most importantly though, clients were interested in the fresh perspective and unbiased, critical analysis provided by PreScouter’s talented scholars.

By leveraging the relationships of its two PhD founders, PreScouter set about to develop a Global Scholar Network consisting of aspiring scientists, engineers, economists, analysts, and developers who share a common ambition to apply their academic knowledge and problem-solving skills to challenges faced in industry. As the company has grown to include over 30 full-time employees including many ‘graduates’ of the Global Scholar Program, the Network has also grown, with over 800 scholars participating, representing five continents, and coming from the top research universities in the world.

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