The Innovative and
Entrepreneurial University:
Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
new
local
venture
work
nacie regional
ways
practices
U.S. Department of Commerce
governments
talent
October 2013
member
expand
leaders
industry
funding
encourage efforts
assist
faculty
accelerators
enhance
opportunities
recommendations
transfer
national
university
resources
economic
existing entrepreneurs
colleges
collaborations
encouraging federal
development
council
locke
many
collaboration
strategies
companies
conducted
business
conducted
program
higher
institution
potential
partners
activities association
advance
engagement
technology promote
attract
industries
innovation programs
commerce
call agencies
students
intellectual
research
entrepreneurship
actively
interest
universities
advisory community commercialization
campus education
create
develop
growth
policies
science
support
working
student
property
prepared by:
Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Economic Development Administration
In consultation with:
National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Table of Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................................................... Page 4
Remarks from NACIE Co-Chairs ......................................................................................... Page 5
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. Page 8
Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. Page 9
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... Page 14
Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship .................................................. Page 19
Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship ................................................ Page 23
Actively Supporting Technology Transfer........................................................................ Page 27
Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration ................................................................. Page 32
Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts ........................... Page 36
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... Page 41
Appendix: “Deep Dives” of Selected Colleges and Universities .............................. Attached
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
3
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Foreword
Innovation is a key driver of economic growth in the United States. At the Department of Commerce,
our agencies and bureaus are focused on nurturing innovation, developing advanced manufacturing in
the United States, and increasing exports to the world. Innovation is a priority for the U.S. Department of
Commerce because it helps American industry, universities, and research institutes to develop the next
generation of technologies and increase the number of high-growth American startups.
Over the last several months, the Department of Commerce’s Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
spoke directly to colleges and universities around the country to understand how they are nurturing and
promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. This effort was conducted in response to a letter that was
marshaled by the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to the Department
in 2011, which described how university-based innovation and entrepreneurship is blossoming, and
outlining steps that the university community would like the US government to take to further nurture
economic value creation in conjunction with universities. This report entitled, “The Innovative and
Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Focus,” includes the
results of those interviews and conversations.
In 2009, the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship was created as part of the
implementation of the America COMPETES Act. This council, comprised of some of America’s leading
entrepreneurs, investors and university leaders, has been a tremendous asset to the Administration by
providing ideas and feedback on policies that nurture innovation and entrepreneurship. Over the last
two years, the Council, under the leadership of co-chairs Steve Case, Dr. Mary Sue Coleman and Dr.
Desh Deshpande, has had a major impact on several Administration accomplishments including Startup
America, the American JOBS Act, and a letter from university presidents that was the starting point of
this report.
That letter, entitled “Recommendations to Facilitate University-Based Technology Commercialization”,
mobilized the higher education community. It provided a strategic framework for universities, colleges,
and its partners in government, philanthropy, and business to advance university-based innovation
and entrepreneurship. This framework has become part of the discussion on campuses everywhere as
higher education thinks about its future and the desires of its students, faculty, and communities. Signed
by 142 of America’s leading universities, this letter spawned similar efforts by community colleges,
state colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs), and several government research
laboratories.
The Department’s Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship spoke directly to nearly every signatory
of this letter. As expected, we found that universities and colleges across America are engaged in an
exciting and comprehensive set of programs to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship among their
students, faculty and communities with the goal of supporting industry and the regional economy. While
their approaches vary based on geography, history and size, they are all committed to the innovation
economy and the role of entrepreneurs in driving that economy. In addition, the universities are all
strong partners of the U.S. government, its research agencies, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Moving forward, the Department will work collaboratively with our partners in higher education to
develop a common action plan to support and nurture university-based innovation and entrepreneurship.
The insights in this report provide a signiicant starting point for the development of this action plan on
the roles of universities and the federal government in nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship to
support America’s economy.
4
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Remarks from the Co-Chairs of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and
Entrepreneurship
The co-chairs of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), and on
behalf of the full membership, would like to thank the U.S. Department of Commerce for its follow up
work with universities, national labs, community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Since its inception, NACIE has focused on the issue of the commercialization of federally-funded
research, and the opportunity to create economic value and jobs in the United States through greater
commercialization by our university, lab and corporate research partners. In April 2011, four of our
members led the charge to engage universities directly in this effort. Through the combined efforts
of Presidents’ Mary Sue Coleman, Bud Peterson, Michael Crow, and Chancellor Holden Thorp, and the
outside support of several higher education groups, we submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of
Commerce focused on university-based innovation and entrepreneurship. America’s higher education
institutions are engaged in a variety of exciting programs to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship as
part of the education of their students, faculty and alumni, and as a tool to leverage their assets to create
economic value in their communities. The letter emphasized key steps taken by the higher education
community to enhance those programs, and suggested ways in which the federal government could
enhance it even more. While there are certain characteristics that all the universities share, this report
highlights the diversity of programs across the United States in a way that relects the diversity of size,
geography, culture and research capacity of our higher education institutions.
This report is the start of similar outreach by the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal agencies
to universities, federal labs and private companies to better understand the nature of our innovation and
our capacity to commercialize. In addition, NACIE looks forward to promoting the ideas in this report
and to promote those that can be replicated for greatest impact. We know that these activities will
lead to greater innovation, commercialization, and broad-based entrepreneurship from our university
communities.
We look forward to continued involvement with the U.S. Department of Commerce and to making future
recommendations in this area as well as other critical areas of importance to NACIE, including access to
capital and the celebration of entrepreneurship in the United States.
Co-Chairs
Steve Case
Chairman & CEO
Revolution LLC
Dr. Mary Sue Coleman
President
University of Michigan
Dr. Gururaj Deshpande
Chairman
Sparta Group
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
5
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Members
Tom Alberg
Managing Director
Madrona Venture Group
Dr. Barron Harvey
Dean
Howard University School of Business
James Andrew
Chief Strategy & Innovation Oficer
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Krisztina Holly
Former Vice Provost for Innovation
University of Southern California
Tom Baruch
Founder
Formation8 Capital
Ray Leach
CEO
Jumpstart
Dr. Claude Canizares
Vice President for Research, Associate Provost
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kenneth Morse
Managing Director
Entrepreneurship Ventures
Dr. Curtis Carlson
President & CEO
SRI International
Dr. G.P. “Bud” Peterson
President
Georgia Institute of Technology
Robin Chase
Founder
Buzzcar
Michael Roberts
CEO
The Roberts Companies
Marcelo Claure
Chairman, President & CEO
Brightstar
RoseAnn B. Rosenthal
President & CEO
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern
Pennsylvania
Dr. Michael Crow
President
Arizona State University
Dr. Holden Thorp
Provost
Washington University in St. Louis
Ping Fu
VP & Chief Strategy Oficer
3D Systems Corporation
Dr. Charles Vest
Former President
National Academy of Engineering
Dr. Christina Gabriel
President
University Energy Partnership
Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth
CEO
Battelle
6
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Ofice of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Nish Acharya
Former Director & Senior
Advisor to the Secretary
Paul Corson
Former Deputy Director
Kari McNair
Research Analyst
Gautam Prakash
Acting Director
Brandi Parker
Senior Policy Advisor
Saliha Loucif
ELDP Research Team
Heidi Lovett
ELDP Research Team
Steven Rutz
ELDP Research Team
Shari Stout
ELDP Research Team
Asif Alvi
ELDP Research Team
Marc Liverman
ELDP Research Team
Kyle Ward
ELDP Research Team
O. Felix Obi
Intern
Amy Nasr
Intern
Nithyaa Venkataramani
Intern
Cassandra Ingram
Economist
Lauren Dupuis
EDA Management Analyst
Bryan Clubb
Intern
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
7
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Acknowledgements
This report would not have been possible without a sustained effort by many individuals and organizations
that deeply care about universities, commercialization, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Foremost, we at the Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) would like to thank the National
Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) for its leadership in many areas since its
inception in 2010. NACIE members have been critical in advising the U.S. Department of Commerce
and its federal agency partners about the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship. In particular,
the four major university presidents in NACIE were our key contacts to the university community. We
would like to thank Dr. Mary Sue Coleman, Dr. Michael Crow, Dr. Bud Peterson, and Dr. Holden Thorp
for their leadership in the creation of the letter to former Secretary Gary Locke on “Recommendations
to Facilitate University-Based Technology Commercialization” and support of our subsequent follow-up.
This letter has become an important resource for universities and colleges around the country as they
plan and develop their innovation and entrepreneurship programs. It is often cited within the academic
community for its thoroughness in outlining the role of universities in innovation, and entrepreneurship.
In addition, OIE owes tremendous gratitude to several associations representing higher education,
innovation and entrepreneurship. These organizations have long advocated for greater federal support
for research and development (R&D) as well as for greater commercialization. Most notably, the American
Association of Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU) have been
dedicated partners since the beginning of this effort. These associations helped NACIE to marshal the
original 142 signatories for the NACIE University Presidents’ letter.
Several other higher education associations also supported our effort through outreach to their
members. In particular, associations representing institutions at the state and regional level worked with
us to understand their members’ approaches to innovation and entrepreneurship and to highlight their
strategies–which we found were often similar to those at the major research universities. The American
Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) connected us with over 60 state universities
and hosted a number of forums from which we obtained valuable insights. The National Association of
Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), has over 170 community college members that have
made a similar commitment to entrepreneurship as part of the Startup America Initiative commitment.
And the United Negro College Fund and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ (HBCU) Deans
Summit helped us reached out to their member schools, which are looking at developing entrepreneurship
programs around the technical programs they have historically had and around social innovation. We
also received support and encouragement from the Association of University Technology Managers
(AUTM), the American Council on Education (ACE), and the National Council on Entrepreneurial Tech
Transfer (NCET2). We look forward to working more closely with them in the future.
We would like to acknowledge the work of many members of the U.S. Department of Commerce family
who have provided support and encouragement of university-based innovation and entrepreneurship.
Additionally, we received support and encouragement from the Ofice of the Secretary, the leadership
of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Ofice (USPTO),
the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Commerce’s Executive
Leadership Development Program (ELDP), and of course, the staff and supporters of OIE.
Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
July 2013
8
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Executive Summary
America’s colleges and universities have gotten the entrepreneurial bug. From the i6 Proof of
Concept Center at the University of Akron to the University of Wyoming’s Technology Business Center,
America’s higher education institutions are embracing the importance of innovation, commercialization,
entrepreneurship, and the creation of economic value for their communities. Most people are familiar with
the traditional centers of university-based innovation and entrepreneurship such as the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and its connection to the Greater Boston entrepreneurship ecosystem. But
over the last decade, more universities, community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HCBU), and regional state colleges have embraced innovation and entrepreneurship as critical to their
mission and role in their communities.
In 2011, 142 major research universities and associations submitted a letter to the Secretary of
Commerce renewing their commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and in their
communities, and asked the federal government to continue to work with them in these areas. This
report is the next step in a two-year effort by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National
Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) to understand exactly what America’s
colleges and universities are doing programmatically and strategically to nurture innovation,
commercialization, and entrepreneurship among students, faculty, alumni, and within their communities.
In order to determine what efforts the signatories have made in innovation and entrepreneurship,
representatives from the Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) spoke to the leaders of 131
research universities, located around the United States. OIE also collected information from community
colleges, regional colleges, and HBCUs about their programs. Time and again, the leadership at these
universities and colleges emphasized the pedagogical value of entrepreneurship, their vision for
entrepreneurship in their communities, and the organizational infrastructure they are developing to
maximize the research, ideas, and talent associated with their colleges and universities. The results from
these discussions will encourage anyone concerned about America’s capacity to innovate and create the
next generation of high-growth startups, especially those who feel that institutions of higher education
have an important role to play in this arena.
Over the last two decades, the majority of job creation in the United States has occurred in young, startup
companies.1 In addition, innovation, and the real-world application of that innovation, is all around
us. From breakthroughs in medicine and genetics to clean technologies, social media, or education
technologies, innovation is becoming a more critical part of all of the products and services available
today. While the United States remains the global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, there is
constant competition from around the world to maintain that leadership.
And as global competition continues to grow, it is critical that the institutions driving innovation improve
their ability to develop products and services with market relevance and economic value. Historically, a
large portion of America’s investments in innovative companies have been centered in the metropolitan
regions of San Francisco/Silicon Valley, CA; Greater Boston, MA; New York/New Jersey; Austin, TX;
Seattle, WA; Washington D.C., and San Diego, CA.2 However, universities outside of these areas are now
leading the charge to model new entrepreneurial ecosystems. This is best exempliied by the University
of Michigan’s efforts in Michigan, Arizona State University’s impact in the Phoenix area, the University
of Akron’s work in Ohio, and the University of Southern California’s efforts in the Los Angeles area. In
addition, hundreds of colleges and universities across the U.S. are creating entrepreneurship programs
with the short-term objective of creating educational value for their students and the long-term objective
of driving economic growth in their communities through locally-developed enterprises.
Nearly all of the university leaders that participated in the discussion emphasized the importance of the U.S.
government and the university community working together to maximize innovation commercialization.
Over the last decade, universities have been the largest sector to receive federal R&D grants –receiving
1
Haltiwanger, John C., Ron S. Jarmin, and Javier Miranda, “Who Creates Jobs? Small vs. Large vs. Young,” NBER Working Paper No. 16300,
August 2010, see http://www.nber.org/papers/w16300.pdf?new_window=1.
2
PricewaterhouseCoopers and National Venture Capital Association, “Investments by Stage of Development Q1 1995- Q2 2012,” MoneyTree
Report, see https://www.pwcmoneytree.com/MTPublic/ns/nav.jsp%3Fpage=notice&iden=B
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
9
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
nearly $36 billion from federal agencies in FY2009.3 Universities have received funding and assistance
from a variety of federal agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Education, Agriculture,
Labor, State, Health and Human Services, Energy, Defense, U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). In short, universities and the U.S. government are
key partners in research, development, and innovation. Furthermore, leaders of universities and federal
agencies share a common desire to increase collaboration and bring innovative ideas and research to
the market to create real-world solutions and high-growth startups.
The NACIE University Presidents’ letter, “Recommendations to Facilitate University-Based Technology
Commercialization” identiied ive focus categories at the heart of the innovation and entrepreneurship
activities within America’s universities. These categories are student entrepreneurship, faculty
entrepreneurship, technology transfer, industry collaboration, and engagement in regional
economic development. The universities afiliated with the letter are each addressing innovation and
entrepreneurship in diverse ways relevant to their research budgets and programs, student population,
geography, history, and culture. Through their distinct approaches, these institutions hope to improve
their own partnerships with the federal government and pursue their broader organizational goals.
Following are summaries of some of the best practices and emerging trends at universities and colleges.
Promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship
Colleges and universities are investing heavily in the development of their students’ entrepreneurial
skills. While many students dream of starting the next Facebook® or Twitter® (both of which were started
by students), universities are more focused on the pedagogical value of entrepreneurship as a set of
skills that can be applied across professional environments and activities to supplement the students’
classroom experience. Universities are investing both in formal programs as well as in extra-curricular
activities to channel students’ interest in solving global problems through entrepreneurship. Examples of
formal programs include degrees and certiicates in entrepreneurship, while examples of extra-curricular
activities include business plan contests, entrepreneurship clubs, and startup internships. Many universities
are even experimenting with on-campus accelerators, entrepreneurial dorms, and student venture funds. At
the very least, these activities provide critical organizational skills to students, and at the very best, may create
the next great university spinoff. Some of the most effective practices include:
The University of Colorado System’s Innovation and Entrepreneur Degree Program –
Offers a Bachelor’s degree in Innovation (B.I.), through a unique multi-disciplinary team and
course work approach.
The University of Illinois’ Patent Clinic – Provides law students the opportunity to draft
patent applications for student inventors.
Washington University in St. Louis’ student internship program – Offers 25 paid
internships per summer for students to work in a start-up’s.
Rice University – Raised and provided $1.2 million in cash and in-kind services for its
business plan contest in 2011. This money has served as a de-facto angel round of funding
for the recipient companies.
University of Washington – Hosts a multi-level business plan competition comprising of
different competitions throughout the school year, in combination with seminars, courses,
and mentorship to assist in pushing student ideas to the next level.
University of Florida- “INSPIREation” Hall – Is the nation’s irst entrepreneurship-based
academic residential community - encouraging student interaction with fellow students,
leading researchers, distinguished faculty, business professionals, and entrepreneurs.
Encouraging faculty innovation and entrepreneurship
Faculty and doctoral graduate students conduct the research powering many of the innovations that
spawn high-growth startups. However, even at our nation’s most entrepreneurial universities, many
faculty and graduate students do not always consider the market and societal relevance of their
3
National Science Foundation, “Science and Engineering Indicators, 2012,” See http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/digest12/portfolio.cfm#4 and http://
www.nsf.gov/statistics/digest12/funding.cfm#3.
10
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
research. To address this issue, universities are putting in place a series of policy changes to encourage
more faculty entrepreneurship, which in turn will complement the student entrepreneurship. These
changes include greater recognition of faculty entrepreneurs, integrating entrepreneurship into the
faculty tenure and selection process, and increasing faculty connections to outside partners - through
externships, engagement with business, and targeted resources for startup creation. Finally, universities
are actively working with federal agencies to address some of the regulatory challenges around faculty
entrepreneurship, in particular, those related to conlict of interest and national security issues. Some of
the most effective practices include:
The University of Pittsburgh – Offers a Business of Innovation Commercialization course
aimed at educating and motivating both student and faculty researchers in innovation
development, commercialization, and entrepreneurship.
University of Southern California – Promotes faculty entrepreneurship and innovation by
supporting, rewarding, and funding the work of faculty members.
University of Virginia – In 2010, the University’s School of Medicine was among the irst to
include commercialization and entrepreneurship activities among its promotion and tenure
criteria.
University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) – The EIR
works with licensing staff and researchers at the University of Nebraska’s Medical Center
to help identify, evaluate, develop, and support the creation of new companies based on
UNMC innovations.
Actively supporting the university technology transfer function
University Technology Transfer Ofices (TTO) and Technology Licensing Ofices (TLO) have traditionally
been the hubs within universities where innovators and outside business leaders engage to commercialize
inventions. The recent burst of entrepreneurship on campuses has greatly expanded the role of the TTOs
and TLOs. Instead of merely focusing on the commercialization of individual technologies, these ofices
now act as a central point where students, faculty, alumni, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry can
connect with each other. These ofices are now focused on identifying and supporting entrepreneurship
on campus, helping startups ind the best opportunities and building successful business models,
changing the culture of their universities, and creating companies that will be based in the communities
around the university. TTOs and TLOs have also expanded support beyond their traditional areas, such
as energy and life sciences, into education, social innovation, and agriculture. Some of the most effective
practices include:
Utah State University’s Intellectual Property Services – A university unit within the
Commercial Enterprises ofice that is dedicated to helping faculty and staff manage and
protect and commercialize university intellectual property and support institutions in the
surrounding areas.
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Technology Transfer Internships – Offers
internship and fellowship opportunities for students within the TTO.
Cornell University’s IP&Pizza™ and IP&Pasta™ – Is an outreach activity for faculty, research
staff, and students to increase appreciation of the importance of making university research
results useful to society and provide a basic knowledge and understanding of intellectual
property issues and an awareness of capturing and protecting valuable intellectual property
and its importance to entice potential industry partners.
California Institute of Technology (CalTech) – Files a provisional patent application for
every single disclosure that goes through their TTO and later evaluates the technical and
business merits over the irst year.
Regional Tech Transfer Centers – Serve the needs of research institutions and non-proits
throughout a region and are of particular beneit to institutions without TTOs or TLOs.
Examples include the South Texas Technology Management Center, the University of Utah,
and the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center. These have been particularly useful for
institutions with entrepreneurial faculty but without large TTOs.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
11
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration
Businesses and industry beneit greatly from university research and innovation. Universities are
constantly looking for ways to connect their research and students’ education to emerging industry
interests. In recent years, universities have put greater emphasis on supporting startup companies, while
continuing to engage established companies that have traditionally been their licensing partners. To
facilitate greater collaboration and innovation, universities are opening up their facilities, faculty, and
students to businesses (small and large) in the hopes of creating greater economic value. Universities
are strategically partnering with companies, offering internships and externships, sharing facilities with
startups, such as accelerators, and creating venture funds and incentive programs funded by industry, all
of which drive increased innovation and product development by university students, faculty, and staff.
Some of the most effective practices include:
Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) – Is
an advanced-technology research campus where university, industry, and government
organizations collaborate.
University of Minnesota’s Industrial Partnership for Research in Interfacial and
Materials Engineering (IPrime) – Is a university-industry partnership based on two-way
knowledge transfer. The partnership is a consortium of more than 40 companies supporting
fundamental and collaborative research on materials.
University of Delaware’s Ofice of Economic Innovation & Partnership (OEIP) – Has
established partnerships with the College of Engineering and the Lerner College of Business
to establish a program entitled Spin In™. The program works with local entrepreneurs who
‘spin in’ a technology, patent, or product that needs further technical development.
Georgia Institute of Technology’s (Georgia Tech) Flashpoint – Is a startup accelerator that
offers entrepreneurial education and access to experienced mentors, experts, and investors
in an immersive, shared-learning, open workspace.
Engaging with regional and local economic development efforts
Historically, local economic development has been an important mission of the nation’s large
universities. Many of America’s leading universities, particularly land-grant universities, have always felt
a strong responsibility for the betterment of their surrounding communities. These days, universities are
increasingly focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship as key contributors to the growth and success
of local communities. Universities are requesting the federal government to include commercialization
and innovation-driven economic development in their grant programs. In addition, regional economic
development planning now often starts with an assessment of a local university’s research strengths. In turn,
universities are seeking partners to supplement their strengths and overcome their weaknesses through
partnerships with community colleges, non-proit economic development agencies, governments, and
entrepreneurship groups. Some universities, such as Tulane University, are asking their students and
faculty to contribute to local community development through service and projects. Others, such as
North Carolina State University, are building innovation-driven campuses that help surrounding cities
and communities prosper. Some of the most effective practices include:
Tulane University’s Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program – Integrates the
university with the surrounding economic ecosystem, thereby contributing to local economic
development. Students are required to engage outside the campus with the community,
often through entrepreneurial projects.
Purdue University’s Technical Assistance Projects – Brings faculty and graduate students
together to provide cost-free consulting and assistance to local entrepreneurs on business
and technical issues.
University of Georgia’s Service-Learning Program – Offers enhanced courses incorporating
service learning opportunities into all of the University’s schools and colleges to increase
student involvement in their local communities.
University of Kansas’ RedTire’s Initiative – Helps link graduate students and alumni with
struggling local small/medium-sized businesses. Through a collaborative effort, these
businesses receive support and mentorship.
12
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
We have learned a great deal from our discussions with university and college leadership. While one size
does not it all, there is certainly something for everyone in this report. It highlights the most interesting
and creative programs in each of the ive categories summarized above. The goal is for universities and
colleges to look at these examples for inspiration and relevance to their programs and objectives. The
innovative and entrepreneurial university is the aggregation of all of the great efforts identiied in this
report, and it is exciting that many institutions are already engaged in a number of these efforts.
Higher education clearly has made great strides in expanding America’s innovative capacity. Their
innovation and entrepreneurship efforts converge with similar efforts being pursued by the federal
government. For example, President Obama issued an Executive Memorandum in October 2011, entitled
“Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth
Businesses.” It calls on all federal agencies to create plans for improving technology transfer of federallyfunded research and development (R&D), at federal labs, and with universities, companies, and contract
research organizations that receive federal support. The 131 universities we spoke with provided many
insights about their relationship with federal agencies. Some of those ideas are referenced in this report.
Over the next few years, federal agencies, under the leadership of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, will develop plans for greater commercialization of their research and development
(R&D) efforts. This report is part of a larger effort by the federal government to improve its technology
transfer activities and external partnerships, thus enabling more effective targeted federal support of
university and college programs that promote innovation and commercialization.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
13
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Introduction
“The key to our success…will be to compete by developing new products, by generating new industries,
by maintaining our role as the world’s engine of scientiic discovery and technological innovation. It’s
absolutely essential to our future.”4
− President Barack Obama, November 17, 2010
America’s innovative and entrepreneurial culture is often regarded as one of this country’s greatest
national advantages in an increasingly competitive world. This innovation infrastructure includes a large
number of universities and colleges, research institutions, laboratories, and startup companies all across
the United States - from major cities to rural areas. Every day, these institutions, often in partnership with
federal agencies, develop breakthrough technologies in the life sciences, energy, telecommunications,
information technology, education, social innovation, and other areas. This, in turn, has attracted many
of the world’s best and brightest people to pursue careers in R&D and innovation in the United States.
Many of these same minds become leaders and entrepreneurs across the nation – creating cutting-edge
innovation products and services and building our great companies.
As other nations increasingly compete with the United States for leadership in innovation,5 America’s
colleges and universities are doing their part to maintain our leadership and to nurture more innovation,
create processes and programs to commercialize that innovation, and promote entrepreneurship as a
viable career path for students. Universities use different approaches to encourage innovative thinking.
Their approaches depend on their local environment and objectives, which in turn varies on geography,
institutional size, history, culture, and funding resources. This diversity of approaches is proving to be
both appropriate and successful for universities and colleges as they seek to create academic and
economic beneits through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Across the United States, state and local governments, economic development agencies, non-proits,
universities, and business groups are trying to develop innovation ecosystems that foster marketfocused innovation and nurture startup companies to drive job creation. They all share some common
goals - to ind ways to create millions of new jobs in emerging industries where the United States can
maintain its economic leadership, gain market share or create entirely new industries. At the same
time, the challenges of globalization require that America remain nimble and constantly deliver new,
innovative products and services. Research has shown that business startups and surviving young irms
disproportionately create jobs relative to their size in the U.S. economy. For example, while irm startups
only account for roughly three percent of total U.S. employment in any given year, they are responsible
for about 20 percent of gross job creation.6
For the United States to remain economically competitive there is need for a strong national infrastructure
to commercialize innovation and support high-growth entrepreneurship. If the nation needs to
create millions of jobs, and many jobs are created by startup companies, then America will need to
signiicantly increase the number of high-quality, startup companies in the coming years. In the United
States, universities are a signiicant source of the ideas and R&D that are the value proposition of these
high-growth startups. But those startups cannot be based solely in the traditional centers of American
innovation, such as Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, and North Carolina. In order to develop local
entrepreneurial ecosystems, these startups must also be based in new cities and rural communities in
order to build their long-term economic prospects.
Unfortunately, the rate of startup formation has slowed over the past several years. According to a report
from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the United States could have created almost two million more
jobs in 2010 if new business creation and employment at new businesses had remained at the same
pace as in 2007. Furthermore, the report stresses that returning to historic rates of startup formation will
4
See http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-ofice/2011/02/03/remarks-president-innovation-penn-state-university.
5
U.S. Department of Commerce, “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States,” January 2012.
See http://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/iles/documents/2012/january/competes_010511_0.pdf.
6
Haltiwanger, John C., Ron S. Jarmin, and Javier Miranda, “Who Creates Jobs? Small vs. Large vs. Young,” NBER Working Paper No. 16300,
August 2010. See http://www.nber.org/papers/w16300.pdf?new_window=1.
14
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
be key to achieving high future growth rates in employment.7 Another MGI report also highlighted the
importance of startup companies to economic growth, inding that around one third of the change in
economic growth can be explained by changes in startup rates.8 In other words, when economic growth
increases, about one third of that growth can be attributed to increases in startup rates. These statistics,
when factored in with research indings based on Census data,9 validate the critical and growing role of
the startup company in job creation and economic growth.
Fortunately, in many industries a combination of innovation and development of new business models
has drastically reduced the cost of starting and building a company. Startups can launch and grow
quickly without necessarily depending on large quantities of elusive venture capital. This change has
been well documented and is facilitated by the emergence of cloud computing; the ability to ind
contract partners to manage administrative services, such as payroll, human resources, and accounting;
the growth of micro-targeted “apps” for a wide variety of needs; the ability to use social media for
targeted marketing; and access to inexpensive credit. Finally, the rise of “Do-It-Yourself” prototyping
companies and affordable 3-D printers has led to a lourishing community of startup manufacturers that
can leverage these tools to create and market products in a customized, but scalable, manner. These
low-cost opportunities are being embraced effusively by college students as they “bootstrap” their
businesses while remaining students.
Scattered throughout this report are examples of colleges and universities that are nurturing innovation
and entrepreneurship in unique ways - from creating educational value and outlets for their students to
providing new economic opportunities for their local economies.
We know of at least 450 colleges and universities across the United States now have entrepreneurship
programs. Although universities are starting at different places, their ability to mobilize their communities
to become entrepreneurial is vital in creating a legion of high-growth startups. By engaging a broad yet
diverse swath of the university community (students, faculty, alumni, local business and civic leaders) in
entrepreneurship activities, universities and colleges aim to catalyze more solutions to major societal and
economic problems–from inside and outside the lab–and to create an infrastructure supporting startup
creation. Research universities in particular, are creating a culture of student and faculty entrepreneurship
and seeking greater industry collaboration and commercialization of new technologies from their R&D
efforts.
As the Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic
Development Administration talked to university leaders across the United States, they spoke about
their growing roles in driving regional economic development. Universities are expanding beyond
being primarily providers of innovation for their communities to also being a partner in vibrant local
and regional ecosystems that include other universities, federal labs, startup companies, accelerators,
and state and local organizations and improving access to public infrastructure. Many universities and
colleges regard the model developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a means
of benchmarking their own roles in their communities.10 MIT measures the economic value created by
companies started by or afiliated with their alumni. In addition to creating tremendous economic value
around the world, MIT found that nearly one-third of their entrepreneurs were not engineers, but from
other disciplines, relecting the broad-based nature of high growth innovation.
A McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report on entrepreneurship indicated that there are three pillars to the
platform that enables innovation and entrepreneurship to lourish, and universities are increasingly driving
or involved in each of these factors: developing fertile innovation ecosystems, creating an entrepreneurial
7
Manyika, James, Susan Lund, Byron Auguste, Lenny Mendonca, Tim Welsh and Sreenivas Ramaswamy, “An Economy that Works: Job Creation
and America’s Future,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2011. See http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/labor_markets/an_economy_
that_works_for_us_job_creation.
8
McKinsey & Company, “The Power of Many: Realizing the Socioeconomic Potential of Entrepreneurs in the 21 Century Economy,” G20 Young
Entrepreneur Summit, October 2011. See http://www.mckinsey.com/locations/paris/home/The Power of Many- McKinsey Report- 20111005.pdf.
9
U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamic Statistics (BDS). See http://www.census.gov/ces/dataproducts/bds/.
st
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
15
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
culture, and providing sustained inancing for new ventures. 11 Foremost, creating an innovation ecosystem
is critical for the long-term success and quality of entrepreneurial activity. It is important to have a strong local
base for entrepreneurship that is supported by regional economic development plans. American colleges and
universities often are the centerpiece of regional economic development strategies because they are often the
main the source of innovation, but also train the local talent base and workforce, and can connect various actors
to drive a common agenda. Secondly, they often push for cultural change on their campuses and within their
communities, which sustains the innovation ecosystem. This includes everything from targeted entrepreneurship
education to greater ties with local industry, such as licensing technologies locally.
The third factor suggested by the McKinsey report is the importance of available inancing, in particular, early-stage
and sustained inancing. While colleges and universities traditionally have not provided inancing for company
startups, they have begun creating their own investment funds to support their home-grown entrepreneurs.
Sometimes these funds are created through university endowments, specialized donations, or sponsorships. In
addition, many university leaders have called upon the federal government to create funding and other assistance
programs to fund the “valley of death” that innovative technologies face before their business model is clear. This
has become very important to the major public research universities – many of whom are not based in major
urban areas. According to data from the National Venture Capital Association, in the irst half of 2012, almost
three-quarters of venture capital investments in the United States were concentrated in three states – California,
Massachusetts, and New York, and accounted for about 60 percent of all venture-backed deals. In the same time
period, half of the states had only ive or fewer venture-backed deals. This has led universities to step in and ill the
void themselves and ask for federal support.
A recent report by the National Research Council, “Rising to the Challenge: U.S. Innovation Policy for the Global
Economy,” highlights the importance of university linkages to the market to better promote university-based
innovation and entrepreneurship.12 The report relects, and encourages the idea of universities developing
their own entrepreneurial infrastructure through four support strategies:
The creation of matching funds to a fund that is set aside by universities to nurture innovation
and entrepreneurship;
The creation and support of accelerators on campus or afiliated with universities to help spinoffs
grow without losing their connection to local innovation;
The creation of funding mechanisms to help with commercialization and overcoming the
“Valley of Death;” and
Helping universities and colleges learn from each other and stay aware of best practices,
emerging trends and new ideas.
OIE began a series of discussions with the leadership of major research universities, regional state universities,
community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and federal research labs to understand
the diversity of approaches to innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship that they have undertaken.
Initially, this outreach was conducted as follow up to a letter addressed to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce that
was submitted by 141 university presidents, chancellors, and higher education association leaders through the
National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). This letter identiied ive areas where
universities were supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. Those categories included:
Promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship,
Encouraging faculty innovation and entrepreneurship,
Actively supporting university technology transfer,
Facilitating university-industry collaboration, and
Engaging in regional and local economic development efforts.
10
Roberts, Edward B. and Charles Eesley, “Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT,” MIT Sloan School of Management, February 2009.
See http://entrepreneurship.mit.edu/sites/default/iles/iles/Entrepreneurial_Impact_The_Role_of_MIT.pdf.
11
McKinsey & Company, “The Power of Many: Realizing the Socioeconomic Potential of Entrepreneurs in the 21st Century Economy,”
G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit, October 2011. See http://www.mckinsey.com/locations/paris/home/The Power of ManyMcKinsey Report- 20111005.pdf.
12
National Research Council, “Rising to the Challenge: U.S. Innovation Policy for the Global Economy,” The National Academies Press,
Washington, DC. 2012. See www.nap.edu.
16
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
These ive categories relect the widespread importance of innovation and entrepreneurship to the mission
and activities of higher education. OIE found that universities do not view innovation and entrepreneurship
as a short-term revenue opportunity, but as a long-term investment in their students, faculty, alumni,
supporters, and communities.
Student entrepreneurship serves as a critical gateway for universities to comprehensively embrace
innovation and entrepreneurship. While many universities may hope that their students are secretly
working on the next Apple® or Google®, their main objective is to provide educational value in a way that
will focus students’ energies to help them identify and embrace their areas of interest, and supplement their
classroom education with the development of life skills, such as budgeting, marketing, and professionalism.
Many universities believe that they will beneit more through sustained relationships with their graduates,
rather than by acquiring inancial equity from student startups.
Faculty entrepreneurship policies are designed to connect research to market and societal relevance and
to ind solutions to real-world problems. Universities are encouraging faculty entrepreneurship by creating
lexible work place policies, inancial awards, and making seed funding available to faculty, researchers,
and graduate students, as tools for retention, revenue, income supplementation, and as a way to keep
faculty motivated and engaged. It is also a relection of a larger desire among a new generation of faculty
to be more relevant to the world around them.
The traditional home for starting the commercialization of university-based innovation and entrepreneurship
is the university’s technology transfer ofice (TTO). In recent years, and despite criticism, the TTO continues
to be the hub and engine of the commercialization process on campuses. TTOs are however taking on
a greater role than merely assisting with patenting and introducing faculty and students to investors.
TTOs are organizing networks across the universities’ communities, growing their teams in order to better
understand new technologies, and organizing programming across campus departments. TTOs also are
aligning their goals with university advancement, and are developing shared strategies around fundraising,
alumni engagement and corporate relations.
The need to collaborate with industry has grown in importance as access to federal funding declines. Not
only are universities licensing inventions to, and collaborating with, established companies, but they are
also increasing their support for home-grown startup companies. They continue, though, to recognize that
larger, established companies remain an important source of revenue. Universities remain keenly aware
of the importance of the private sector to their mission, because private industry will ultimately house both
their innovations and students when they leave the university. In addition to licensing innovation and
hiring their students, private industry is actually a producer of innovation itself, and has a much deeper
understanding of the broader business climate and models to commercialize any given invention.
Finally, universities are looking at innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship as part of their role
in the economic development of their local economies – at the local and state levels. While universities
have always had an important role in their communities, the points of engagement are rapidly changing.
Instead of focusing solely on the economic impact of their graduate hires or of the physical expansion of
university facilities, universities are establishing programs to engage their globally competitive talent to
develop local and regional economies— the engine of job creation and economic growth in the United
States.
The NACIE-sponsored university presidents’ letter was just one of several efforts by higher education
institutions focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. As part of the Startup America Initiative,13
the National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) also enlisted 170
community college presidents to commit to entrepreneurship programs on their campuses. The
HBCU community, through the work of the United Negro College Fund and the HBCU Business School
Deans, is reaching out to its schools to help launch entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship
programs. Regional state colleges also began entrepreneurship programs as a means of keeping
their graduates in their local areas. These efforts have many of the same characteristics as those
of the NACIE-letter signatories, with a focus on idea generation, business model and leadership
development, and local and regional development. This report seeks to highlight this alignment and
assist colleges and universities that are striving to expand innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities.
13
See http://www.whitehouse.gov/startup-america-fact-sheet.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
17
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
The NACIE-sponsored university presidents’ letter identiied multiple areas where the federal government
could engage the university community.
First, it became clear in conversations with university and business leaders that federal agencies will
need to adapt to emerging technologies and ideas in two very important ways. Today’s innovation is
multi-disciplinary in nature – across geographies, specialties, and ields. Wireless health is an example
of a complex technology that merges the functionality of wireless technology, information technology,
medical devices, and biotechnology – areas that are not currently within the purview of a single federal
agency. The development of such a multi-disciplinary technology changes the relationships between
federal agencies and their interactions with the university and business communities. The Economic
Development Administration’s (EDA) i6 Challenge and Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenges,
14,15
and the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps,16 are attempts to address this emerging issue, with
multiple agencies pooling their funding for targeted support in multi-disciplinary areas such as advanced
manufacturing or proof of concept development.
Second, those organizations that seek to better support high-growth innovation and entrepreneurship,
from government agencies to non-proits and accelerators, must be able to understand the needs of
high-growth startups and their emerging technologies. Universities are recruiting outside partners
to better train their students and faculty on the strategic needs of innovation-driven, high growth
companies. University and business leaders see these areas of integration as critical to the success
of those startups, and in helping the United States in areas of strategic national importance, such as
manufacturing, exports, and investment.
The “Innovative and Entrepreneurial University” is a combination of the most innovative, interesting, and
successful examples of what universities and colleges are doing around the country to foster innovation
and entrepreneurship. This report will leave the reader optimistic about America’s leadership in innovation
and the ability of our entrepreneurs to grow our economy and create high-quality jobs. America’s
universities and colleges are indeed on the move. Whether just getting started with entrepreneurship
clubs or raising multi-million dollar gifts to scale up their commercialization efforts, the nation’s colleges
and universities have elevated the topics of innovation and entrepreneurship to national prominence.
The hope is that this report will spark the generation of even more ideas and discussions in higher
education that will continue to move these topics forward.
14
See http://www.eda.gov/challenges/i6/.
15
See http://www.eda.gov/challenges/jobsaccelerator/.
16
See http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/.
18
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
I.
Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The main priority of any university and college system is education. Many universities are expanding their
educational curricula and programs to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Universities increasingly
offer courses and programs in entrepreneurship and related ields for undergraduate, graduate, and
postdoctoral students. Students develop a better understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship,
through newly-established curricula, minors, majors, and certiicate programs that cut across educational
disciplines, and through educational programs that emphasize hands-on learning. Many universities are
also augmenting traditional classroom instruction in novel ways. Universities are increasing educational
opportunities outside of the classroom to include student housing and dormitories that directly foster
the entrepreneurial spirit. Student clubs, centered on multi-dimensional entrepreneurship activities,
also are on the rise. Most campuses run a variety of business plan and venture competitions that offer
students support networks, such as mentors and training opportunities, to help them further develop
their innovative ideas.
Courses and degree programs in innovation and entrepreneurship
Many universities are seeing an increase in student demand for innovation and entrepreneurship,
broadening course and program offerings. Entrepreneurship courses and programs equip students
with a wide range of valuable skills, including business-plan development, marketing, networking,
creating “elevator pitches,” attracting inancing (such as seed capital), and connecting with local business
leaders. Some universities are offering bachelor and master’s degree programs and concentrations in
innovation and entrepreneurship, expanding upon traditional Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of
Science (B.S.) degrees (Box 1.1). Many business schools are breaking down traditional barriers and
encouraging entrepreneurship through multi-disciplinary courses and programs to students of all
academic disciplines.
Box 1.1
The University of Colorado’s Innovation and Entrepreneur Degree Program
Located at the Colorado Springs campus, this program offers a Bachelor’s degree in Innovation
(B.I.), which provides a unique multi-disciplinary team approach. For example, in addition
to completing classes in computer science, a B.I. in Computer Science requires students to
develop strong team skills, study innovation, engage in entrepreneurship, practice proposal
writing, and learn business and intellectual property law.
Accreditation remains an important issue to the academic community. While many schools now offer
entrepreneurship courses, many commented about the inability to develop certiicates, programs, and
degrees without proper guidance and standards for entrepreneurship education. Many anticipate that
in the coming years the leading accreditation agencies, along with state education agencies, and the
U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, will come together to address this issue, and that this will
eventually lead to a great expansion of formal programs in this space.
Experiential learning
Experiential or applied learning has been increasing in popularity at universities and colleges for many
years now. This type of education improves upon traditional classroom instruction—which consists
mainly of lectures and fact-based memorization—by actively engaging students in innovative and
entrepreneurial activities through workshops, conferences, internships, hands-on experience, and realworld projects (Box 1.2). Experiential learning in innovation and entrepreneurship has spread outside
of business schools and moved into the ine arts, science, and engineering programs. Universities and
colleges also support specialized internship programs focused on entrepreneurship education and
technology innovation that match students directly to start-up projects, technology transfer ofices,
venture capital irms, and industry. This variety of educational opportunities allows students to address
real-world challenges in a supportive educational environment.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
19
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 1.2
Examples of Experiential Learning Opportunities
University of Illinois’ Patent Clinic provides law students the opportunity to draft patent
applications for student inventors. Student-innovators with potentially patentable inventions
are referred to the Patent Clinic by the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) at the College
of Engineering. The Patent Clinic then reviews the innovations, searches for relevant prior art,
and selects one innovation for each law student. Each law student then proceeds to work with
the inventors to draft a patent application on their innovation in consultation with an instructor.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s “Entrepreneurial Deli” borrows a food court
metaphor to help students meet and learn from experienced young entrepreneurs. Using
the tag line “Grab ‘n Go Entrepreneurship” and a speed-dating-like format, the workshops
encourage students to learn irst-hand about solutions to different problems that confront
startup ventures from experienced entrepreneurs.
Washington University in St. Louis’ student internship program offers 25 paid internships per
summer for students to work in a start-up company four days a week and attend experience
learning workshops one day a week.
The University of California at San Diego’s Rady School of Business requires its management
students to take a course entitled “lab to market.” In Lab to Market, MBAs create new products
or services and go through the commercialization process, with advice from faculty and
business mentors.
Competitive opportunities
Competitions are an excellent way to actively engage faculty and students in the learning process. As
a whole, business plan competitions are geared toward teaching students how to think outside the
classroom, fostering collaborations across disciplines and increasing access to businesses. Competitions
provide an exciting platform for students to learn practical skills, such as how to craft a business plan,
access venture funding, and pitch ideas. Sequential competitions build upon project ideas, ultimately
leading to completed business plans that are ready for possible funding from investors. Universities
understand this, and are transitioning away from single monetary rewards for competitions and are
increasingly recognizing milestone achievements with a multitude of prizes, including non-monetary
resources such as incubator space and mentorships (Box 1.3). Some universities are expanding their
student team competitions to include faculty and alumni, and increasing the scope and size of the pool
of resources through collaboration with industry and local partners.
20
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 1.3
Examples of Business Plan Competitions
Rice University makes over $1.2 million available in cash, prizes, and in-kind resources to
winners to provide seed funding to launch companies. These funds serve as seed funding for
many of the winning teams.
Florida Atlantic University (FAU) provides the winner of their business plan competition with
free space in the incubator for half a year.
Michigan Technology University’s business plan competition winners are rewarded with a
monetary prize that goes directly to their business, instead of to the individual. The following
year, the winners will highlight their business milestones that have resulted from the funding.
University of Washington has a stage-gated business plan competition comprised of
different competitions throughout the school year in combination with seminars, courses,
and mentorship to assist in advancing student ideas to the next level. The competitions range
across disciplines and industries, bringing students together from different departments.
University of Oregon’s Venture Launch Pathway program, student teams pick from technologies
from many sources included federal labs, companies, universities and technologies from other
countries. The technologies that look most promising are advanced by student teams, with
backgrounds in law, business, and sciences, into the international business competition circuit.
The University of Wisconsin has a 100 hour challenge in which students must purchase
a product, change it, and create a public URL for outreach. They are then tested on many
different aspects of entrepreneurship.
University of Louisiana—Lafayette hosts the Innov8 Lafayette program. This eight day,
community-wide program includes speciic activities centered on the importance of innovation.
Some activities are focused on the environment, entrepreneurship, and the arts.
When discussing the role of federal agencies in this space, many universities commented on two
recent actions by the Obama Administration. First, on the possible expansion of an innovative program
launched by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2012. This National Business Plan contest17 provided seed
funding and technical support to regional business plan contests at universities and in communities.
The program connected the Department of Energy with a large group of leading entrepreneurs and
innovators in the energy space for a relatively small amount of sponsorship. Many universities hoped
that other agencies would also look at this model as a way to access market intelligence, cutting-edge
technology solutions, and as a way to engage better with entrepreneurs and startups.
In addition, many universities are hopeful that recent guidance provided by the U.S. Department of
Treasury about Program Related Investments (PRI),18 could greatly increase the amount of philanthropic
investment in their student entrepreneurs. The guidance put forth by Treasury makes it easier for
philanthropic entities, such as foundations and trusts, to directly invest in for-proit entities that share
their mission. This will greatly expand access to philanthropic funds, in addition to traditional investor
capital, to advance socially beneicial technologies in food, energy, and health.
17
U.S. Department of Energy, National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. See http://techportal.eere.energy.gov/commercialization/
natlbizplan.html.
18
U.S. Department of the Treasury, proposed regulations for program-related investments by private foundations.
See http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Proits/Examples-of-Program-Related-Investments-by-Private-Foundations-%E2%80%93-ProposedRegulations.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
21
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurial and innovation collaboration spaces
Entrepreneurial and innovation “living spaces” are a unique trend in motivating student involvement
outside the classroom setting. These spaces use the power of proximity to promote student engagement
in developing innovative ideas and starting businesses (Box 1.4). Some universities are embracing the
entrepreneurial dorm, whereas others are expanding this concept to promote entrepreneurial clusters,
within the university and sometimes stretching into local communities. Entrepreneurial spaces facilitate
student access to learning and networking opportunities with local entrepreneurs and innovators.
These spaces also host a variety of student entrepreneur clubs that serve as a premier resource for
aspiring student entrepreneurs and foster a community of like-minded peers. These clubs are geared
toward building inancial literacy and leadership skills, as well as encouraging students to pursue
commercialization opportunities for innovative ideas and technologies.
Box 1.4
Examples of Living and Learning Spaces
University of Florida’s Inspiration Hall is a new, state-of-the-art live-and-learn community
located within Innovation Square, only two blocks from the University of Florida and the
Florida Innovation Hub. By living and learning within the Innovation Square environment,
undergraduate students can interact throughout their academic program with other likeminded people: fellow students, researchers, faculty, business professionals and entrepreneurs.
Purdue University has an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community (ELC) that
is made up of students interested in new business ventures that live together in Harrison Hall,
many of whom also participate in the entrepreneurship certiicate program.
Community college entrepreneurship
As part of the Startup America Initiative, 170 community colleges across the United States have
launched entrepreneurship programs. These programs are often taking the same shape as those at
larger research universities. Institutions such as Lorain Community College OH offers incubators and
shared facilities for their students and regional entrepreneurs while Middlesex Community College,
MA, provides seed funding for their students to launch entrepreneurial ventures.
Community
colleges are embracing entrepreneurship for the same reasons as their colleagues in research
universities. It relects their student desires, the changing nature of their local economies, and a
change in their role in workforce training with larger companies. Many of them have expressed the
desire to see entrepreneurship become a career pathway for their students similar to other career ields.
22
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
II.
Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship
A new generation of faculty on America’s campuses is striving to conduct world-class research, while
working to identify the relevance of their research for solving real-world problems. To address this
issue, these institutions are fostering faculty entrepreneurship through educational opportunities,
acknowledging technology development, increasing transfer and commercialization achievements, and
facilitating collaborative efforts. This commitment to promoting innovation pushes faculty to identify
and employ available networks and resources to pursue innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities.
New faculty orientations, boot-camps, and seminar events focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship
are examples of some of the educational opportunities offered to faculty. Campuses are actively
connecting faculty to networks of recognized entrepreneurs and industry partners, to promote crossdisciplinary efforts. Faculty tenure considerations and other rewards are on the raise, incorporating
faculty contributions in innovation and technology transfer efforts, while providing the incentives to
engage in R&D, technology development, and business start-up efforts.
The changing innovation culture
On trend is a shift in the hiring and retention culture across many universities. Today, institutions hire
faculty who are interested not only in the advancement of their academic areas but also in pursuing
commercial applications for their technologies, or engage in entrepreneurial activities that correlate with
their academic disciplines. New faculty orientations often include workshops and training to help faculty
navigate technology transfer ofices and ind the resources available to them on campus. Universities
also offer faculty training in areas such as professional mentoring, prototype development, business
planning, and market testing (Box 2.1). An evolving university innovation culture provides faculty with
the essential information and incentives to move from a narrowly-focused scientiic research tradition to
a more forward-looking, comprehensive innovative process that incorporates technology development
and commercialization efforts.
Box 2.1
The University of Pittsburgh Offers a Business of Innovation Commercialization Course
The Ofice of Technology Management and the Ofice of the Provost hosts an annual, sevenweek course aimed at educating and motivating both student and faculty researchers
in innovation development, commercialization, and entrepreneurship. The course takes
participants through each step of the innovation and commercialization process, from idea
conception to intellectual property protection and licensing, and all the way to early-stage
market research and networking strategies. Private, individualized workshops are also offered
where students can explore their own innovation ideas in a team setting.
Rewarding faculty innovation and entrepreneurship
Universities and colleges are celebrating faculty achievements in innovation and entrepreneurship. These
acknowledgments include campus-wide prizes and award ceremonies that bring the faculty community
together to recognize and learn about the accomplishments of their peers across academic disciplines
(Box 2.2). Awards such as “Innovator of the Year” and “Faculty Entrepreneur of the Year” are popular as they
reward faculty for achievements that reach beyond traditional research and teaching accomplishments.
Universities and colleges are updating tenure and sabbatical leave guidelines to encourage faculty to
pursue collaborative and entrepreneurial endeavors, such as launching a start-up company (Box 2.3).
Some programs allow faculty time off to engage in innovation and entrepreneurial activities, without
incurring any penalty towards tenure and promotion. Providing leave to pursue entrepreneurial activities
increases the potential for the successful technology development and commercialization of research,
while adding to faculty’s understanding of the commercialization process, enabling them to incorporate
new material into student instruction. This lexibility also improves the focus of R&D efforts and facilitates
public engagement by encouraging faculty to commercialize their research.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
23
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 2.2
University of Southern California
The university promotes faculty entrepreneurship and innovation by supporting, rewarding,
and funding the work of faculty members. The Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
presents three faculty members with research grants totaling $11,000 as part of annual Faculty
Research Awards. The Center also rewards entrepreneurial-minded faculty with the annual
Greif Research Impact Award, which is given to the faculty member who has written an article
that has the most effect on the area of entrepreneurship.
Box 2.3
University of Virginia
In 2010, UVA’s School of Medicine was among the irst to include innovation and entrepreneurship
activities among its promotion and tenure criteria. Candidates for promotion and tenure
are asked to provide a report on their inventions and the patent status of those inventions;
registered copyright materials; license agreements involving their technologies; and any
other contributions to technology transfer-related activities, including entrepreneurship and
economic development impact.
Finding the appropriate rewards and policies to promote faculty innovation is complex. Internal policies
for faculty innovation performance usually are evaluated at the discretion of individual departments. For
these programs to be successful in spurring innovation out of the higher educational system, universities
and colleges need increased lexibility in developing faculty tenure, leave regulations, and other facultybased policies that facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship.
Supporting collaboration
As faculty become more interested in commercialization activities, universities are providing additional
resources to encourage collaboration with local communities and industries. A few universities have hired
individuals, or created teams, to connect faculty with similar interests and research goals—often reaching
across academic departments—to share information and experience on creating startups, licensing
technology, and collaborating with industry. This cross-disciplinary effort helps share information on best
practices and spurs new ideas for developing and commercializing new products.
Universities and colleges are also inviting community leaders and local entrepreneurs to become more
involved in the development of technology and startup companies (Box 2.4). A few universities have
developed programs to link experienced entrepreneurs with faculty to assist in the startup process,
development, and longevity. In most cases, faculty returns to teach and continue research, allowing
the non-university collaborative partners to take over the leadership role and continue to develop and
expand the companies. Entrepreneurs also serve in a mentoring role, helping faculty to identify and
further develop commercialization opportunities.
24
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 2.4
The University of Cincinnati Research Institute (UCRI)
The University’s non-proit allows local, national, and international industries to partner with
expert faculty and students performing sponsored research. These partnerships not only
connect university experts with industry, but also facilitate the commercialization of research,
and enhance cooperative and experiential learning experiences and opportunities. With the
creation of the foundation outside the university, professors and other state employees remain
in compliance with state restrictions on equity and revenues streams, while allowing them to
be compensated for their work through income from licensing revenues and other shares.
To capitalize on the expertise of seasoned entrepreneurs, many universities are building entrepreneurin-residence (EIR) programs. The EIRs work with university researchers, students, faculty, and staff in the
development of early stage start-up companies to provide guidance and advice. EIRs help interested
faculty members better understand entrepreneurship, evaluate technology for licensing, expand their
network of resources, and guide them on how to start the commercialization process (Box 2.5). EIRs
usually have a focus area that meets faculty needs, often have a good working knowledge of current
intellectual property laws and can assist faculty in inding those ideas in their research programs that
are worth commercializing. The EIR program provides mentorship opportunities that help stimulate
innovative and entrepreneurial activity throughout campus.
Box 2.5
University of Nebraska Medical Center - Entrepreneur in Residence
The EIR works with licensing staff and researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical
Center to help identify, evaluate, develop, and support the creation of business plans and
new companies based on technology developed at UNMC. The EIR is an industry expert with
scientiic, entrepreneurial, managerial, and inancial experience who works side by side with
UNMC scientists to identify, evaluate, and support the development of new start-up companies
based on technology license agreements from UNeMed.
Engaging with industry
Faculty is increasing its engagement with industry to obtain research and technology development
ideas, capital, and other types of support. Many universities host events to bring faculty, industry, angel
investors, and venture capitalists together for networking opportunities (Box 2.6). These events give
industry an early look at R&D activities on campus, while providing faculty with networking and funding
possibilities. Examples of such events include lunch-and-learn series, rapid-ire networking programs,
seminars, and workshops.
Box 2.6
California Institute of Technology
The university runs a comprehensive “tech review” process for faculty, in which Caltech
researchers have the opportunity to give a short presentation on a new and promising
technology for commercialization to an audience of angel investors, venture capitalists, and
entrepreneurial alumni. A roundtable discussion then takes place where investors provide
feedback and advice on commercial development potential of the technology.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
25
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
A common theme developing across campuses large and small is the importance of creating connections
between faculty and the outside world. Programs, such as proof-of-concept, are meant to connect faculty
research topics to market relevance, while externships and leave of absence policies are designed to
provide faculty with the time they need to understand the latest trends and technologies in industry in
their ields of science. Although the NACIE-led letter prioritized these sorts of programs, they have not
grown as quickly as expected due to a combination of budgetary issues and faculty interests.
As universities provide faculty with increased educational opportunities, celebrate their innovative
achievements, and enable collaboration with experienced entrepreneurs and business communities, an
entrepreneurial culture is developed throughout the educational system. Students also can beneit from
the on-going education and experiences of faculty. Through dedicated institutional support, faculties
across academic disciplines are able to work together with each other, community entrepreneurs, and
businesses to develop new technology and create start-up companies.
26
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
III.
Actively Supporting Technology Transfer
Effectively transforming research and ideas into marketable products and services is often a lengthy
and complex process requiring substantial resources. The university and college systems are one of
the most important sources of the nation’s R&D output. The goal of a Technology Transfer Ofice (TTO)
at a college or university is to protect and promote the research developed by its faculty and students
through commercialization and patents. Once the research is protected, the technology and information
can be released, providing social and economic beneits.
Reducing technology transfer barriers
A high priority for the nation’s university and college system is to streamline the technology transfer
process, to more effectively identify research with market potential, and to move it from the lab to the
marketplace. Universities are broadening their technology transfer functions to meet the growing
demand of their services while working to minimize the costs and risks of commercializing research.
They are accomplishing this by expanding TTO facilities, hiring skilled staff, improving technical support
to researchers, and increasing access to capital for researchers.
The success of these heightened technology transfer efforts at universities is evident by an increase
in licensing and startup activity.19 According to a licensing survey by the Association of University
Technology Managers (AUTM), the number of licenses executed in iscal year (FY) 2011 rose 14 percent
compared to FY 2010, and the number of startups formed was up three percent during the same time
period.
Reducing these barriers while also developing common standards is critical to the TTOs seeking to add
societal beneit and impact to their missions. As entrepreneurs today move towards a greater focus
on the triple bottom line (environmental, social, and economic or “planet, people, and proit”), TTOs
are increasingly being asked about their processes for patenting low-cost and environmentally-friendly
innovations as well as those innovations that investors may be interested in funding using microinance
models. Consequently, TTOs are developing processes for these sectors to integrate into the model of
their traditional work.
Expanding TTOs level of support
TTOs are hiring more skilled professional staff with experience in areas such as intellectual property law,
licensing, and in developing and managing university-industry partnerships. In addition, a university’s
TTO often taps into institutional resources such as law and business graduate students and faculty.
Examples of other skills sought by TTOs include marketing, accounting, and regulatory compliance
(Box 3.1). Acquiring experienced staff and in-house assistance not only leverages internal resources but
also reduces the costs and time associated with iling patent applications and negotiating technology
licenses. TTOs are also integrating accomplished entrepreneurs to consult with students and faculty
about building startup companies to foster their technologies.
Box 3.1
Utah State University
The university’s Intellectual Property (IP) Services unit within Commercial Enterprises helps
USU faculty and staff manage and protect intellectual property. IP service managers work
and assist USU and USURF researchers to identify, disclose, protect, and commercialize USU
intellectual property. IP Services includes two IP attorneys, one registered patent agent, one
paralegal and one docket manager.
19
Association of University Technology Managers, “AUTM U.S. Licensing Activity Survey: Highlights,”. See http://www.autm.net/AM/Template.
cfm?Section=FY_2011_Licensing_Activity_Survey&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8731
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
27
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
An emerging trend in technology transfer is the establishment of “one-stop-shops” that provide
assistance, mentorship, and information on patenting and licensing processes to faculty and student
inventors. These “shops” streamline the technology disclosure process and integrate all technology
transfer functions into one facility. Interested faculty and students can explore the start-up potential for
their inventions and can obtain assistance during the technology development and marketing. TTOs are
also expanding beyond their traditional areas of focus, namely the hard sciences and engineering. Today,
many TTOs provide guidance in navigating licensing processes and commercialization opportunities for
innovative work in areas such as education, criminology, organizational structure, music, dance, and
the ine arts. NACIE’s letter to the Secretary of Commerce recommended the importance of building a
common platform to connect similar efforts – so that institutions know what research, intellectual property
development, and programming their peers are involved with.
The fastest growing trend in this space is the rise of Proof of Concept Centers, such as the MIT Deshpande
Center for Technological Innovation and the Von Liebig Center at the University of California San Diego.
These centers have a variety of programs that collectively achieve three goals: increase the volume and
diversity of entrepreneurship on campus, improve the quality of startups and entrepreneurs on campus,
and be increasingly engaged with local investors and entrepreneurs so that the university’s startups stay
local.
Box 3.2
University of Toledo
The “Lab-to-Launch” initiative partners UT’s technology transfer team with Rocket Ventures
LLC, a pre-seed fund, to accelerate the transfer of research to the market. The team works
closely with research faculty to identify and promote high-potential platform technologies
and expedite the transfer of university research into commercial products and services, with
particular emphasis on regional economic development.
TTOs are also hiring undergraduate and graduate students both as interns and employees (Box
3.3). These students acquire experience working on commercialization projects and the associated
challenges, such as the patenting and licensing process, and to how access funding. Some students
sort through faculty R&D submissions and help identify university research with technical viability and
commercial value. Other students, in particular law and business school students, help ile patent
applications, share information on intellectual property rights, consult on internal strategy, and provide
business development coaching. A few TTOs offer lecture series to faculty and students on technology
transfer topics to attract more interest and educate on commercial viability.
28
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 3.3
Examples of Educational Hands on Learning and Workshops
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Ofice of Technology Development (OTD) internship
program is an eight-month position for graduate students or post-doctoral fellows who wish
to learn more about intellectual property protection and technology commercialization. The
internship runs during the academic year and requires 8 to 12 hours a week, during which
the interns participate in a formal training series covering the basics of technology transfer,
market assessments, and direct marketing for select technologies. Interns also gain exposure
to ongoing negotiations between the OTD and industry partners.
University of Rochester’s F.I.R.E. Series is a regular lecture series designed to educate the
university community about the many aspects of technology transfer, what it means to be an
inventor, what every researcher should know in order to protect potential intellectual property
rights, and the complexities of starting a business. This lecture series is run out of the University
of Rochester Medical Center Ofice of Technology Transfer.
Cornell University IP&Pizza™ and IP&Pasta™ host outreach activities to Cornell faculty,
research staff, and students. The goal of these activities is to increase appreciation of the
importance of making university research results useful to society, providing a basic knowledge
and understanding of intellectual property issues, and creating an awareness of capturing
and protecting valuable intellectual property and its importance to entice potential industry
partners. This and other similar programs are run through Cornell’s Center for Technology and
Enterprise and Commercialization.
Protecting intellectual property
Universities have created a variety of strategies to protect their intellectual property, which has raised
the demand for intellectual property services and staff with knowledge of intellectual property laws and
procedures. One reason for the increased demand is that many TTOs are now connecting with faculty
early in the R&D process to encourage them to ile patent applications prior to publicly releasing their
results. One institution iles a provisional patent application for every invention disclosure submitted by
university researchers, while others are more selective and ile a combination of provisional and utility
(or regular) patent applications on technologies that appear to have the greatest licensing potential (Box
3.4). To provide faculty, students, and staff with incentives to protect intellectual property and pursue
commercialization of research, universities are increasingly rewarding them by offering a greater share
of licensing royalties and other commercialization income.
Box 3.4
California Institute of Technology
Caltech iles a provisional patent application for every single invention disclosure that goes
through their TTO. Over the irst year following the iling of the provisional patent application,
the TTO evaluates the technical and business merits of the invention to determine whether it
is worth iling a regular patent application on the invention.
Shrinking the funding gap
Universities are working with their TTOs to provide and increase access to funding opportunities in order
to help bridge the transition between research and technology development, commonly referred to as
the “Valley of Death” (Box 3.5). Universities use a variety of funding mechanisms to bridge the Valley
of Death. Many universities have created venture-, proof-of-concept-, and growth-funds to assist in the
development of technology and startups resulting from university research. Additionally, universities
have sought local community and alumni support to help TTOs meet the growing demand for venture
funds and grants for seed funding. Convertible debt loans are used by some universities to ease
commercialization, with faculty paying back a predetermined percent of start-up costs.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
29
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 3.5
Bridging the Funding Gap
University of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is a nonproit
organization that started as a funding center from alumni contributions. Today, WARF
raises funds through licensing university research and technologies to companies for
commercialization. The funds generated are used to fund research, build facilities, purchase
equipment, and support faculty and student fellowships.
University of Oklahoma’s Growth Fund provides money to researchers on each OU campus
to help them develop prototypes and conduct additional research to keep research programs
viable through the Valley of Death.
Temple University’s Ofice of Technology Development and Commercialization has provided
more than $130 million in funding to support advanced research commercialization at the
university.
University of Colorado System’s TTO Proof of Concept (POC) programs are supported
by income generated from the commercialization of CU intellectual property. The CU TTO
has created, and supports, POC funding opportunities for university research and business
development. To date, TTO’s POC programs have involved over 110 projects and more than
$13 million in total funding.
University of Michigan’s Gap Fund program was developed from the proceeds of the UM
Tech Transfer central administration revenues, with matched funding from the State.
University of Minnesota’s Internal Business Units (IBUs) program has developed an incubator
space to help mature and launch early-stage technologies. IBUs address a small number of
technologies that are nearly market ready but need some limited investment and early sales in
order to be more attractive as startup opportunities. IBUs are an effective way to incubate those
technologies in a business setting where they receive support from the university through
seed funding and resources. IBUs are not a mechanism for bridging a broad “valley of death,”
or incubating technologies that will require a long period of development or signiicant seed
funding, but rather represent an innovative strategy for new company development.
Emory University’s Drug Innovation at Emory (DRIVE) is a non-proit drug development
company separate from, but wholly owned by, the university. DRIVE expands the capabilities
of traditional academic drug discovery by combining the expertise of Emory scientists with
industry drug development experts.
University of Akron’s Akron Regional Change Angel (ARCHAngel) Network is a regional
forum for introducing investors to market-driven, technology-based investment opportunities.
It brings together promising technology companies and angel investors with a particular focus
on businesses that leverage the region’s strengths in healthcare, information technologies,
polymers, and other advanced materials.
Regional technology transfer centers
In various parts of the country, universities and non-proit research centers are already coming together
to collaborate on the commercialization of research. According to a recent survey of its member’s by
the Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU), a large percentage of major public universities
do not have separate technology transfer ofices. In addition, students and alumni from smaller colleges
often don’t have an on-campus technology transfer ofice, and need support from others in their regions.
Regional tech transfer centers are illing that role, by providing the technology transfer function across
large universities, regional state universities, non-proit research organizations and small colleges across
a region (Box 3.6). Universities such as the University of Utah and Texas System have taken the lead in
developing these centers in order to collaborate better with their regional partners.
30
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 3.6
University of Texas South Texas Technology Management Center
South Texas Technology Management (STTM) is a regional technology transfer ofice afiliated
with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), and has
collaborated with the research departments of the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA),
the University of Texas Pan American (UTPA), Texas State University (TXState), the University
of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) and Stephen F. Austin University (SFA). It provides a host of
services for regional institutions such as support on grant applications, patenting, and
commercialization. Through the collaborative efforts STTM has built a portfolio of technologies
and projects to take to push ideas to the next level. The Horizon fund provides $10 million to
spin off companies created using University of Texas technology.
Several universities indicated that they experienced funding challenges in this area. In particular, there
are very few sources of funding for innovation infrastructure – i.e., support for the organizations that
bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and professional services to help deliver ideas to
the marketplace. Often, private philanthropy and corporate sponsors are not interested in broad-based
infrastructure support, but rather on programmatic funding for speciic sectors. To help ill this void, the
federal government has created grant challenge such as EDA’s i6 Challenge and NSF’s Innovation Corps,
to provide lexible funding to support innovation infrastructure.
Presidential Memorandum on Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization
of Federal Research
In 2011, President Obama posted a Presidential Memorandum entitled “Accelerating Technology
Transfer and Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses.” This
Memorandum requires federal agencies highly involved in R&D and entrepreneurship to develop plans
to greatly increase the commercialization of federally-funded R&D over the next several years. There are
several proposed programs to guide technology transfer efforts in the federal government, but many of
the agency decisions will also have an impact on universities.
The Interagency Working Group on Technology Transfer, managed by the National Institutes for
Standards and Technology, has released its preliminary report on the implementation of the Presidential
Memorandum. The various agency reports outline the unique programs and emerging best practices
among federal agencies for partnering with outside R&D organizations such as universities and private
industry, funding the commercialization of research, and assisting startup companies. In addition,
federal agencies will put into place more robust metrics to measure the success of technology transfer
and commercialization of federally-supported R&D. These metrics will help federal agencies identify the
commercial impact of their in-house R&D, as well as that done with partners, such as universities.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
31
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
IV.
Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration
University-industry partnerships are essential for further developing ideas and technologies derived
from university research. These partnerships are crucial for directing investment toward commercially
promising research, and helping to bridge funding gaps that often exist at the technology development
and marketing stages. Universities and industry have found that working together is mutually beneicial
because knowledge and resources are shared to achieve common goals. Industry beneits from greater
and earlier access to scientiic expertise, intellectual property, and commercial opportunities, while
universities beneit from enhanced educational opportunities for faculty and students, revenues from
successful licensing agreements and ventures, and local and regional development.
Sharing resources and knowledge
As federal resources become limited, universities are seeking broader channels of support for
technology development and commercialization efforts, particularly from the business community.
Several universities are creating “front-door policies” to easily engage private industry. Universities have
a wealth of resources available to them, including human and intellectual capital, and R&D infrastructure.
So the front-door policies, web-portals and easy to navigate licensing policies all expedite the ability of
private industry and startups to identify university R&D with commercial potential earlier and open up
opportunities for companies to easily commence strategic partnerships with universities. Companies of
all ages, sizes, and geographic proximity are beneiting from this invigorated support from universities.
And better use of the universities physical infrastructure, such as lab space utilization with industry,
reduces risks and provides valuable research opportunities to their faculty and students. By collaborating
with universities and colleges, companies are able to take advantage of their well-equipped labs and
breadth of skills.
Universities with speciic strengths in the areas of manufacturing or energy research have established
long-term partnerships with large corporations, such as BMW®, FedEx®, Johnson Controls®, IBM®, Cisco®,
Proctor & Gamble®, and Minova® (Box 4.1). These relationships allow students and faculty to engage in
cutting-edge research while helping solve industry problems. There is, however, some concern among
a few universities that partnerships with large companies may limit a university’s research options to only
those areas of interest to industry. Tulane University, as an example, works to establish partnerships with
smaller local companies not only to support the university’s research but also to engage with the local
community in a mutually beneicial way.
Box 4.1
Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR)
CU-ICAR is an advanced-technology research campus where university, industry, and
government organizations collaborate. In the university’s labs and testing facilities, automotive,
motorsports, aerospace, and mobility experts work together on R&D. The Center’s focus
on applied education and direct engagement with industry leaders includes cutting-edge
curriculum development and research capabilities focused on current trends and related
issues in the automotive industry. Partners, such as BMW®, Michelin®, and Koyo® work, with
students and faculty to focus on systems engineering through automotive R&D.
Additionally, universities are doing a better job making their facilities, lab space and infrastructure
available to private industry. This has taken many forms, from contract research and licensing agreements
to Entrepreneur-In-Residence programs where investors and corporate send their brightest minds into
academia for a time to understand the latest research and assess the business model and economic
implications of the latest technologies.
Regardless of whether universities opt to partner with large or small businesses, collaborative efforts
between universities and the private sector capitalize on the variety of resources available to both, and
efforts range from individual projects to broader engagement across disciplines. Companies reap
beneits from sharing laboratory and incubator space that pull together the combined intellectual
capital of industry and academic experts (Box 4.2). In the later stages of technology development and
32
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
commercialization, universities beneit from industry experience in areas such as market research and
public relations. Furthermore, university-industry partnerships create a direct connection that facilitates
job placement and talent recruitment.
Box 4.2
Examples of University-Industry Partnerships
University of Minnesota’s IPrime (Industrial Partnership for Research in Interfacial and
Materials Engineering) was created in 2000 and is a university/industry partnership based
on two-way knowledge transfer. The partnership is a consortium of more than 40 companies
supporting fundamental collaborative research on materials. Participation in IPrime affords
companies the chance to scan a wide range of scientiic and technological developments and
delve into the fundamental science that undergirds their products. A principal goal of IPrime
is the engagement of industrial scientists and engineers in a pre-competitive, non-proprietary
and collaborative environment that promotes hands-on participation by visiting industrial
scientists with IPrime faculty, students, and post-doctoral associates.
Northeastern University is leveraging its strong relationship with 3,600 companies through
cooperative education and work programs, as well as with the privately-endowed Center for
Research Innovation and Business School, to create a robust pipeline of innovation going from
lab to market at startups and large companies around the world.
Universities, as regional hubs of innovation and entrepreneurship, are developing creative ways
to draw industry partners to campus (Box 4.3). Emerging trends to increase industry presence on
campus and facilitate conversations on new ideas and technology include web portals that provide
industry with access to university resources, networking events, such as breakfast forums and casual
roundtable discussions, and structured/intensive student and faculty internships in the private sector.
Industry speaker series are another popular tool for engaging university and industry scientists in
discussions of commercialization opportunities available in the private sector. On some campuses,
students and faculty members participate in semester-long internships with industry to learn and
solve scientiic and technology development challenges (Box 4.4). While these “experiential”
learning opportunities for university researchers are often geared toward industry interests in areas
such as medicine, natural gas drilling, green energy, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace engineering,
they provide technology assistance, workforce training, and education on current market trends.
Box 4.3
University of Delaware’s Ofice of Economic Innovation & Partnership (OEIP)
OEIP has established partnerships with the College of Engineering and the Lerner College
of Business to establish a program entitled Spin In™. The program works with local
entrepreneurs who ‘spin in’ a technology, patent, or product that needs further development.
OEIP then recruits an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students from the business
and engineering colleges to further develop the product. At the end of a pre-determined
period of time, the intent is to spin the product back out to the entrepreneur for potential
commercialization. OEIP also offers undergraduate and graduate student internships in the
areas of technology transfer and business development.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
33
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 4.4
University of Minnesota’s Medical Device Center’s Innovation Fellows Program
This program offers a full immersion educational and product development program for
medical device creation. Annual cross-functional teams are created with participants having
degrees in engineering, medicine, and/or biosciences along with a demonstrated evidence of
innovation and product development. Team members, or fellows, are immersed in an intense
training program with access to irst-class lab facilities in engineering and medical research
across campus. The fellows interface daily with faculty, medical professionals, industry
collaborators, and the university’s technology transfer ofice to develop, test, patent, and
license new medical devices with the goal to improve health care worldwide.
An emerging trend is the use of targeted websites and social media around current research project
information and patent licensing opportunities through online databases, and the creation of network
banks of past campus-wide efforts and partnerships. Some universities have implemented an externalfacing portal, or an open web-based database, that provides content on innovation and commercialization
processes to self-registered users and business partners. Others, such as the University of Missouri
have developed tools like Source Link - online tools to highlight educational resources on campus so
that businesses can easily ind university experts of interest to them. These portals house all relevant
information in one location, which reduces search times and increases eficiency in identifying potential
commercial opportunities. By increasing openness and transparency, industry can easily access university
resources and information without having to search through multiple university records.
Box 4.5
University of Michigan’s Business Engagement Center (BEC)
The BEC, afiliated with the Ofice of the Vice President for Research and the Ofice of
University Development, provides companies with a one-stop gateway to the various
research, technology, education, facilities, and talent resources at U-M. Founded in 2007, the
BEC maintains relationships with more than 1,000 companies, and is contacted by about 200
new companies each year. BEC-facilitated relationships can range from individual research
projects to broader engagements, depending on the business need. One of the functions
of the BEC is to work with schools and departments to encourage industry sponsorship of
research at U-M. Another BEC initiative speciically aims to spur innovation and economic
development in partnership with industry and government. For example, Boeing maintains
a long-standing partnership with U-M, recruits from seven different U-M programs, provides
support for 50 students, regularly sponsors student projects, and conducts research with four
different departments.
Accelerators
Another emerging trend is the development of “accelerators” and related initiatives, located in and
around university campuses (Box 4.6). These accelerators are partnerships between universities and
companies that are designed to fast-track the innovation and commercialization process by providing
access to world-class scientiic facilities, technical personnel, and testing and diagnostics equipment—
resources not readily available to many startups. Some accelerators focus on helping companies in the
post-incubation period such as meeting the technical needs of startups, and bridging funding gaps.
34
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 4.6
Georgia Tech’s – Flashpoint
Flashpoint is a startup accelerator that offers entrepreneurial education and access to
experienced mentors, experts, and investors in an immersive, shared-learning, and open
workspace. The program, the irst public-private partnership of its type in the country, brings
together resources from the university, private sector, and startup leaders to accelerate
innovation and growth. A $1 million fund, created by an investment irm working with Atlanta
angel investors, invests between $15,000 and $25,000 in startup funds a company. In January
2011, Flashpoint held its irst “demo day” with 15 startups from the initial Flashpoint group that
included Georgia Tech faculty and students.
Providing guidance on intellectual property rights and royalties
University partnerships often face issues in navigating intellectual property (IP) ownership of technology
that is developed collaboratively with industry. However, most universities and companies are looking
beyond these barriers and proactively addressing ownership issues. As more university researchers
partner with industry for inancial R&D support, negotiating a functional IP policy is becoming an
important issue. To increase these partnerships, some universities have developed a standard policy
and agreements that they use with all industry collaborators. A few universities have followed the
Pennsylvania State University model, which uses a simple, lexible agreement that often leads to granting
sole IP rights to the industry partner. The University of Minnesota has a unique approach in eliminating
the need for protracted negotiations over IP by allowing the sponsoring company to pre-pay a fee and
receive an exclusive worldwide license, and all associated royalties. By taking a lexible approach to
negotiations, universities are trying to encourage more industry partnerships.
To increase transparency and encourage industry cooperation, universities are establishing uniied
and structured IP policies. These policies guide decisions on issues such as rights to IP and division
of royalties. Some larger universities, for example, have established policies that waive a substantial
portion of royalties—in some cases 25 to 35 percent—on disclosures to the sponsoring industry. Generally
this has happened for industries that are quickly evolving in the global economy – where business
model becomes more important than IP protection. Many universities also are creating standard forms
that outline university and industry responsibilities and proit-sharing. These new IP strategies reduce
uncertainty, alleviating the inancial concerns that surround university-industry partnerships.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
35
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
V.
Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts
Universities are proven assets to regional economies, providing employment opportunities and skilled
labor, and contributing to local demand for goods and services. Likewise, universities and colleges
understand that investments in surrounding communities are of beneit to their institutions. Local
communities with a higher living standard can offer a diversity of good economic, housing and recreational
opportunities. This attracts faculty, students, and skilled workers to the university and maintains a healthy
local economy. To improve this relationship, universities are broadening their relationships with regional
and local governments, businesses, and workers, while improving access to university-based resources.
Today, universities are often active partners in regional economic planning and revitalization efforts.20
Universities have taken varied approaches to advance state, regional, and local economic development
and growth objectives, including:
Encouraging direct university participation in local businesses and communities;
Collaborating with local governments, industry, and other stakeholders to develop
comprehensive approaches for regional innovation and economic development; and
Linking local communities with support networks that include federal and state governments,
industry, venture capitalists, and other stakeholders.
State, regional, and local governments are also providing support to facilitate university and business
interactions, such as designing regulations, laws, policies, and programs that promote responsible
innovation and economic development goals.
Working directly with local businesses and communities
Universities and colleges are encouraging student and faculty education, innovation, and entrepreneurial
pursuits that revitalize local businesses and address other local development needs (Box 5.1). Students
and faculty are engaging directly with local businesses and communities more than ever. Universities
are incorporating volunteer requirements into their curricula and encouraging students to shadow, or
consult for, local businesses and non-proit organizations. Some universities are even acquiring local
small businesses and allowing students to manage and operate them to hone their entrepreneurial skills.
Such programs cut business costs, while providing students with hands-on learning experiences which
make them more competitive in the job market.
20
In fact, in a 2009 AUTM survey, more than half of technology transfer ofices indicated that they “frequently” or “always” had economic
development responsibilities. See AUTM, “FY2009 AUTM Transaction Survey: A Survey of Non-licensing Activity of Technology Transfer Ofices.”
See, http://www.autm.net/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Documents&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=5794.
36
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Box 5.1
Examples of Direct Student Engagement in Local Community Businesses and Projects
Tulane University’s Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives integrate the
entire school with the surrounding economic and social ecosystem, contributing to local
economic development. Partnering with all schools including the AB Freeman School of
Business, School of Architecture, and School of Science and Engineering, the program has
created many student-led organizations and social ventures that assist with moving students
out of the classroom and into the New Orleans Community. Tulane has also created several
university competitions including the Tulane Business Plan Competition, the Urban Innovation
Challenge, PitchNOLA, and the NewDay Social Innovation Challenge to engage students and
community partners with local problems while providing them with inancial and technical
support to create solutions. These programs offer students the opportunity to access over
$100,000 in funding annually.
Purdue University’s Technical Assistance Projects bring faculty and graduate students
together to provide cost-free consulting and assistance to local groups on business and
technical issues.
University of Georgia’s service-learning program offers enhanced courses at all of the
University’s schools and colleges to encourage students to provide service to the local
community during their time at the university.
University of Kansas’ RedTire initiative was developed to help link graduate students and
alumni with struggling, local small/medium-sized businesses to prevent shuttering with
ensuing loss of community services and tax base. Through this collaborative effort, businesses
are able to receive support and mentorship to grow the business and employ more fellow
Kansans.
The Merrimack Valley Sandbox’s Campus Catalyst program provides small grants of up to
$500 for students of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Merrimack College, Middlesex
Community College, and Northern Essex Community College to start entrepreneurial projects
off-campus and in their communities.
Faculty members also support local communities through teaching, mentoring, and initiatives to advance
innovation and economic development goals. Many university programs are working to foster dialogue
between faculty and the local community to tackle local challenges. As faculty engage in R&D, they
increasingly collaborate with regional stakeholders to push technology development forward and open
the door to viable market opportunities locally. These efforts have led to long-term partnerships with
local communities.
Collaborative approaches for achieving regional economic development
Universities are engaging in long-term, dedicated innovation and entrepreneurship efforts that promote
regional and local economic development. They are working closely with community stakeholders—
government, companies, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and workers—to improve access to universitybased assets and to implement regional innovation and economic strategies. Universities use a variety
of collaborative models, including research parks, university corridors, startup accelerators, shared
laboratory space, incubators, and innovation and manufacturing clusters. These venues bring together
infrastructure and intellectual capital to address innovation and business challenges and to develop
local economies. These efforts provide a cost-effective and productive means for conducting research,
developing technology, and spurring new markets and businesses.
Universities are well positioned to contribute greatly to these efforts. The universities capitalize on the
power of proximity, building research parks locally, which help to revitalize downtown areas or oncethriving communities. Research parks house technology transfer and strategic partnership ofices,
and incubator and accelerator spaces. They also host entrepreneurs-in-residence, provide mentoring
opportunities, connect individuals with similar research interests, and assist with the licensing and
commercialization processes.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
37
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Startup incubators and accelerators hosted by universities serve as powerful places for local community
members to start new companies and solve pressing local and national innovation and commercialization
challenges. Incubators focus on addressing local community issues such as supporting local startups by
providing mentorship and technical support, thus contributing to local economies.
Universities also are encouraging economic development through the creation of research corridors.
These corridors reside within and across regions and often have a particular technology focus, such
as biotechnology, nanotechnology, health, energy and advanced materials. Corridors offer a resource
pipeline for local communities, universities, and colleges that have similar research interests and
challenges. They attract industry by providing technical support, access to capital, and a large network
of experts. Some research corridors unite communities across state lines, which allow them to address
issues of regional importance, such as green technology, job training for the unemployed, and small
business creation. Furthermore, corridors also produce regional economic analyses with information
on regional economies, such as numbers on job growth, state income, and state startups. Job creation
is also an important focus of many research corridors. Overall, universities are extending their inluence
and better serving their communities by participating in research corridors that connect them with other
local universities, thereby leveraging the talent and resources of all of the participating institutions.
Box 5.2
Examples of Regional Corridors
University of California, Lawrence Berkeley’s East BayGreen Corridor is a broad regional
collaboration to support the emerging clean technology economy. It builds upon the region’s
existing strength as a center for emerging green technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Pennsylvania State University I-99 Corridor Region has received funding from the NSF
Partnership for Innovation program and the Commonwealth to leverage Penn State research
and education strengths for job creation in nearby counties of Bedford, Blair, and Centre.
University of Michigan’s University Research Corridor (URC) is an alliance between
Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University to transform,
strengthen and diversify the state’s economy.
Iowa State University’s Research Corridor stretches from Ames to De Moines and focuses
on research and manufacturing in agriculture, metals, and other areas. ISU and technology
companies such as DuPont® and Syngenta® contribute their expertise toward the effort.
Finally, universities are an excellent source of economic, regional, and business development data
and analysis, ranging from tracking regional economic development and growth to providing data on
university, federal and other resources available to local communities. Many universities are working
together with faculty, staff, students, and community leaders to ind, highlight, and solve regional issues.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration’s University Center’s Program has supported centers in
all ifty states to create this sort of data.
Regional technology transfer centers
As mentioned in Section IV, several regions have created regional technology transfer centers in order
to coordinate commercialization of R&D conducted at their universities, and in collaboration with
other universities and labs. These regional centers were created for two reasons – for universities to
assist each other in the commercialization of innovation that was done across institutions, and to keep
innovative ideas in their respective regions. For example, the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center
is an initiative that provides technology transfer services to multiple colleges and universities in the
area that are not research-driven. In addition, it has played an important role in keeping innovators
and entrepreneurs in the region – particularly those not afiliated with a large research university. Many
regional economic development plans call for this type of collaboration to retain regional talent and
innovation.
38
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Linking local communities to support networks
Universities engaging more in developing and implementing regional economic strategies are
undertaking a predominant role in linking local businesses and community leaders with national and
regional support networks to expand the pool of available resources. Universities hold a unique position
in local communities. They can provide a venue where all stakeholders, including researchers, venture
capitalists, companies, entrepreneurs, consultants and regional authorities and organizations, can come
together to tackle critical local issues, such as locating grant and other funding opportunities (Box 5.3).
Universities are also a good source of intellectual capital.
Box 5.3
Missouri KC - Whiteboard to Boardroom
This bi-state (Missouri and Kansas) partnership of regional colleges, universities, community
colleges, local businesses, and nonproits seeks to discover and develop technology by
pulling it out of the institutions and actively moving it along the development pathway.
Through this program, students, faculty, and local community work to establish new business
ventures, licensing opportunities, create jobs, and spur economic development through
mentoring, job training, hands on learning opportunities, and access to capital funds. Through
the collaborative effort, partnerships are expanded to form and encourage technology growth
and business plan development for the local economy.
A number of university economic development efforts have targeted underserved communities, such
as programs supporting women and minority entrepreneurs to help increase economic development
opportunities across the region (Box 5.4).
Box 5.4
Examples of Reaching Underserved Communities
University of California, Berkeley has students from its Center for Young Entrepreneurs at
Haas (YEAH) work in the community with underprivileged East Bay and Bay Area youth to
share best practices in entrepreneurship, a passion for education, and to help high school
students in the area pursue a college education.
Texas State’s RampCorp program works to improve economic opportunities for women
entrepreneurs in Texas. Women entrepreneurs receive coaching from experienced investors,
entrepreneurs, inventors, and business leaders to learn about resources and opportunities.
The RampCorp program includes both skills and knowledge training to provide guidance in
starting, growing, and funding scalable companies.
Other efforts to provide incentives to promote an innovation economy
State and local governments help to provide resources and design laws, regulations, and initiatives that
can promote innovation and regional economic development. Recent trends show that state and local
governments are pairing up with universities to stimulate local economies through research and business
investments, workforce development, and job creation. By joining forces, both parties maximize the use
of their resources. For example, to stimulate local innovation, state and local government offer regional
grants that match funding that universities contribute. With these additional resources, advancements
in green technology, health sciences, manufacturing, and infrastructure can be applied to solve local
challenges while creating jobs. These collaborative efforts help align resources and support with state
and local needs and strengths.
Many states have begun to incentivize regional innovation and economic development by expanding
private sector investments in local communities through tax cuts and other beneits. State-sponsored
angel networks and venture funds are taking a larger role in the commercialization of technology and
the creation of startups. Some states fund their venture capital programs by auctioning tax credits.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
39
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Targeted state-level innovation tax credits for local projects also encourage local investment to keep
development of early-stage technology and companies within the region.
Many universities are also hoping that the recent guidance by the U.S. Department of Treasury about
program related investing will entice a greater number of foundations and charitable trusts to invest
directly in entrepreneurs and in university programs that nurture startup creation. Charitable foundations
often focus on regions or speciic topical areas, and their ability to fund innovation and entrepreneurship
to meet the needs could be a critical new source of funding for these efforts.
40
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Conclusion: Recognizing the Growing Number of Economically-engaged
Universities
In addition to the ive areas highlighted above, the NACIE-sponsored university presidents’ letter had a
sixth focus category – the recognition of exemplary economic engagement by universities. The letter
suggested that more should be done to recognize those universities that are truly breaking new ground
by supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in the realm of economic development. We hope that
this report is the irst step in an on-going recognition and celebration of university-based innovation and
entrepreneurship.
While the letter itself had a profound impact on the higher education community, it also highlighted
the need to understand the details of university-based innovation and entrepreneurship to assist in
the development of future ideas and programs in this space. The goal of the letter was to lay out,
programmatically, how major research universities were nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship –
organized in the ive focus categories of the letter. In addition, the letter identiied some of the more
common practices, such as business plan contests, as well as collaborative activities that universities
should engage in, such as a database, mapping research and patent applications. This was important
because most major research universities and colleges in the U.S. are not yet performing these activities.
The letter has become a road map for aspiring universities and colleges around the country that are
looking for a path forward for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship.
The examples cited in this report, and the underlying discussion, underscored the diversity of approaches
by higher education institutions across the United States for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.
This diversity relects not only the history, research funding, location, and size of a particular institution,
but also helps the reader understand what the role of outside actors, such as government, investors, and
entrepreneurs should be in order to create more university- and college- sponsored spinoffs. The hope
is that this report will serve as a source of ideas and encourage connections between peers with similar
objectives and circumstances. In other words, as universities strategize about the next generation of
innovation programs that they would like to launch, this report should help them identify peer institutions
that have already implemented similar programs.
Finally, the university community is keen on expanding and improving its partnerships with the federal
government. For every best practice or emerging trend in innovative programs that this report
highlighted, there are a similar number of recommendations to improve public policy and federal
funding programs to help universities commercialize more of their R&D and ideas. Furthermore, as
the Presidential Memorandum on Technology Transfer is implemented, a discussion on synergies and
challenges to align the goals, missions, and opportunities between federal agencies and universities is
certain to arise. The results of those discussions will have a tremendously positive impact on the U.S.
economy and prospects for job creation.
As innovation and entrepreneurship becomes an even greater force in economic growth, U.S. universities
and colleges will be the vanguard in discovering that innovation and in nurturing the entrepreneurs that
can create products, services, economic value, and high-quality jobs. While this report identiies a series
of practices that are helping universities become better at this, there are many more examples that could
have been highlighted. OIE looks forward to working with the higher education community to identify
and promote those practices in future reports.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
41
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
{This page intentionally left blank}
42
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Appendix: “Deep Dives” of Selected Colleges and Universities
In April 2010, over 140 leaders from higher education endorsed and submitted a letter to then Commerce
Secretary Locke through his National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). They
committed to work more closely with industry, private foundations, investors, and local, state, and federal
governments to enhance efforts to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of
research results. Underlining their commitment was a willingness to employ strategies, enhance existing
activities, and expand efforts in several areas, including:
•
Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship,
•
Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship,
•
Actively Supporting the University Technology Transfer Function,
•
Facilitating University – Industry Collaboration, and
•
Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) recently followed up with each signatory to better
understand their efforts to embody and implement the ideas contained within the letter, as well as to
improve our ability to develop policies and programs that support innovation, entrepreneurship, and the
commercialization of research results. OIE is conducting phones calls with every respondent to discuss
their strategies and develop a general outline of each of their initiatives.
For a select few institutions, including some who have not signed the NACIE letter, OIE has conducted a
more thorough exploration of their strategies and initiatives. The goals of these “deep dives” is to discuss
the historical and cultural context for the relevant work being done at leading institutions, highlight
innovative practices, and uncover future trends. These institutions include:
1.
Arkansas Baptist College .............................................................................................Page A-3
2.
Alabama State University .............................................................................................Page A-7
3.
Arizona State University ...............................................................................................Page A-11
4.
Georgia Institute of Technology .................................................................................Page A-17
5.
Howard University.........................................................................................................Page A-22
6.
Lorain County Community College ............................................................................Page A-28
7.
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor ............................................................................Page A-32
8.
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill .................................................................Page A-41
9.
Prairie View A&M University ........................................................................................Page A-47
10. William Marsh Rice University .....................................................................................Page A-50
11. University of Southern California ................................................................................Page A-54
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-1
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
{This page intentionally left blank}
A-2
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
Arkansas Baptist College
Overview – Rebuilding Lives & Local Community
1
Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is a private, historically black liberal arts college located in Little Rock,
Arkansas. ABC was founded in 1884 as the Minister’s Institute, and was initially funded by the Colored
Baptists of the State of Arkansas.
ABC’s current president, Dr. Fitzgerald “Fitz” Hill, is the 13th president in the school’s history. Dr. Hill
accepted his presidency at a time when no salary was budgeted to pay him, and school enrollment had
dipped to fewer than 200 students. Under Dr. Hill’s leadership, enrollment has since grown to more than
1,100 students. The school’s budget has grown from $2 million to nearly $20 million, and Dr. Hill now
i
draws a salary .
Dr. Hill is committed to nurturing ABC’s traditional strengths as a historically black college: connecting
academic programs to applied workforce and entrepreneurial skills and taking a leading role in
rebuilding the local community.
The Community Union, an 11,000-square-foot facility scheduled to open later in 2012, a renovated Old
Main residence hall, and two new education buildings, are part of an over $30 million capital campaign
now underway at Arkansas Baptist College.
Arkansas Baptist College’s (ABC) Scott Ford Center for Entrepreneurship and Community
ii
Development is ABC’s lagship entrepreneurship initiative. In addition to a micro-lending program,
the Center will offer the Icehouse Project, a special course designed to immerse participants in eight
life-lessons in fundamental concepts to building an entrepreneurial mindset. ABC is one of the initial
pilot sites for the Icehouse Project, which was developed by Pulitzer Prize-nominee Clifton Taulbert and
Gary Schoeniger. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Foundation of Entrepreneurship,
which focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, and education provides funding for Icehouse Project.
The African Bean Company is another key partner in the Scott Ford Center. African Bean Company
manufactures the Roots Java coffee brand, which sells coffee beans harvested in Africa. Currently, the
African Bean Company is negotiating retail agreements with major retailers throughout the country.
Proits from sales will assist ABC in its capital campaign. The college will house a Roots Java retail outlet
in the Community Union building.
Below is an enumeration of Arkansas Baptist College programs and initiatives that support the ive
buckets in the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is one of three concentrations in the School of Business’s Department of Business
Administration; it offers students an opportunity to start a new business, run a family business, or launch
a new venture within an existing company. The program provides students with the knowledge, skills,
and abilities needed to enter the entrepreneurial ield. The concentration is also designed to provide
students with the drive, motivation, and discipline required to handle challenges associated with starting
or building a business.
1
Comments By Howard O. Gibson, Ph.D. Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dean, School of Business; Director, Center for
Entrepreneurship - Arkansas Baptist
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-3
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
In addition to academic work, business students can join the Entrepreneurship Club and deepen their
practical knowledge by co-managing various college owned businesses. The Entrepreneurship Club
aims to provide a conduit for students to access relevant entrepreneurial resources, network with
prominent community entrepreneurs, and share ideas. To this end, the Club is dedicated to building
further understanding about new or small businesses, and about entrepreneurship in all businesses.
To deepen their practical knowledge, students have opportunities to participate in internships and
service learning projects at the ABC’s Garden of Eden. This type of learning allows students to apply
knowledge and skills in a real-world setting. Through these experiences, students deepen knowledge,
build workplace skills, and come to better understand the world in all its complexities.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
ABC business school faculty will participate in the Scott Ford Center for Entrepreneurship and Community
Development’s initiatives to train entrepreneurs to start businesses in underserved communities. The
faculty will work with student organizations to build and cultivate relationships and to increase campus
awareness of entrepreneurial thinking and opportunities. The faculty will also collaborate with the
Director of Career Planning and Placement to provide an entrepreneurial perspective to Careers
Services initiatives. In using the Center as a service portal, the faculty will network with already successful
businesses and business support agencies in the area and surrounding area. The purpose of the
Center involves establishing a network of mentors and resources for start-up and existing businesses or
community residents who are interested business ownership.
Dr. Howard O. Gibson, Dean of the School of Business and Director of Entrepreneurship leads the ABC’s
faculty entrepreneurship initiative. Dr. Gibson and the faculty will co-manage the Center’s microenterprise
loan fund, which will serve as a catalyst to spur business development in core urban areas.
University Technology Transfer Functions
ABC does not have a technology transfer ofice in the conventional sense. However, the College hopes
the entrepreneurial capital graduates will positively transform the local business climate. In this way,
rather than commercializing research outputs, the College hopes to add to the entrepreneurial vigor of
its community through college and alumni owned business ventures.
College-Industry Collaboration
ABC’s Capital Campaign and various entrepreneurship initiatives have deepened the College’s
collaborations with the private industry. These collaborative relationships include First Security Bank
of Little Rock and Arkansas Capital Corporation.
First Security Bank of Little Rock and Arkansas Capital Corporation will provide inancing for ABC’s
iii
$18 million capital improvement initiative . Under the New Markets Tax Credit Program, the Arkansas
Capital Corporation will sell tax credits to qualiied national investors, and the tax credits ultimately will
reduce the amount of debt owed by ABC to First Security Bank.
A-4
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Over the past two years, ABC has raised $6 million in contributions and grants for capital projects. The College has
also demolished or renovated 20 houses, bought 12 additional homes and lots, and acquired three businesses in
an effort to revitalize the neighborhood.
As part of the capital improvement, ABC has:
•
Constructed a new building that will expand the cafeteria from 77 seats to 322
•
Constructed a new 190-bed residence hall; and
•
Purchased land around the campus to prepare for future growth.
ABC will also:
•
Construct a community union that will include a coffee shop, a campus bookstore, a
lounge-study area, a food court, a conference room, and ofice spaces.
Another invaluable industry collaboration is with Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the
Foundation of Entrepreneurship. These two organizations will co-fund ABC’s Icehouse Project.
Regional and Local Economic Development
The Scott Ford Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development will be recognized as an
innovator in educating and serving students and clients in economic development. In addition, the
Center will become a catalyst for development in Little Rock and beyond. The design of the Center
is a blended model using a micro-enterprise development process through business education. This
process will combine the best practices in this generation of revenue and social-value to educate and
train social entrepreneurs for the twenty-irst century.
iv
ABC through the Scott Ford Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development , will house a
micro-lending program to provide small business loans to individuals who might not otherwise qualify.
The micro-enterprise loan fund will serve as a catalyst to spur business development in core urban areas.
An independent board that includes the College’s business faculty and administration, and local experts
in banking and venture capital will supervise the pilot fund.
•
Lending will range from $50 loans to up to $5,000;
•
The program aims to launch up to 10 new businesses annually; and
•
Borrowers will be able to draw on the expertise of the advisory council in developing
their business strategy.
In addition, ABC also operates several community businesses. These include the Auto Baptism Car Wash
and the Garden of Eden Fresh Market. All the businesses supported by ABC serve as a training ground
for its students. In turn, the College reinvests the proits to restore the surrounding neighborhood.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-5
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Conclusion
The revitalization of Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) has been both innovative and entrepreneurial. In
February 2006, ABC’s enrollment was fewer than 200 students, and the college appeared on the verge
of losing its accreditation. Five years later, ABC has a new men’s residence facility, which houses nearly
200 students, along with a soon to be completed women’s residence hall.
Improvements have not been limited to physical structures; ABC has maintained its accreditation by the
North Central Higher Learning Commission and enrollment has grown to more than 1,100 students. The
school’s budget has also grown from $2 million to nearly $20 million.
ABC’s success was crafted by Dr. Hill’s innovative vision of creating a non-traditional entrepreneurial
school which welcomes everyone. The college assists high school dropouts (up to 40 percent of urban
students currently drop out) to earn a GED. Successful candidates can then enroll full-time at ABC. Dr.
Hill has also set on an aggressive $36 million capital campaign, which has already raised $23 million.
v
Even so, tuition is about $2,700 a semester, making ABC the least expensive private school in Arkansas .
Just as importantly, many of the initiatives that account for ABC’s success can be replicated in many
HBCU and urban universities.
Dr. Gibson’s comments have been instructive in better understanding ABC’s various innovative
entrepreneurship programs. As well as the impact of the NACIE commitment letter in framing ABC’s
strategic plans and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks ABC’s assistance with this case study, and looks
forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation infrastructure.
A-6
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
The Alabama State University (ASU)
2
Overview — Motivate & Inspire, Especially the Underserved
Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery,
Alabama. Under the leadership of President William H. Harris, the university continues its role as a
purveyor of innovative scholarship, especially in the African American community. Alabama State
University considers the NACIE commitment letter as an afirmation of the school’s historical role, and
current initiatives to make entrepreneurship a core part of its future strategy.
Breaking with orthodoxy, Alabama State University requires faculty to enhance their theoretical knowledge
of entrepreneurship with practical experience, through summer internship with entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship has also moved from the exclusive domain of the College of Business Administration
(COBA) to become part of a larger university culture. The COBA students are now also allowed the
option of choosing either an international business, or entrepreneurship concentration. More recently,
the College of Visual & Performing Arts, Health Sciences, and the Communications Department have
added entrepreneurship curriculum.
The Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Change’s (CEIC) Entrepreneur-In- Residence Lecture
Series introduces and motivates student participation in, and understanding of, entrepreneurship.
CEIC also sponsors the attendance of 80 College of Business Administration students at the Allen
Entrepreneurial Institute in Lithonia, GA. This institute teaches professional etiquette, public speaking,
and other educational activities to augment student preparation for business ownership or corporate
employment.
The College of Business Administration’s partnership with CEIC extends beyond the university gates.
Through their jointly administered International Business Summer Camp, 14 rising junior and senior
high school students, from rural Alabama, were brought to ASU campus for training. The students were
also taken on an international excursion to the Bahamas to further challenge their imagination and
international exposure. A second High School Summer Boot Camp brought rising juniors and seniors
from an urban setting (Detroit, MI), to entrepreneurship and college readiness immersion camp.
Another initiative at COBA’s Center for Disadvantaged Business Enterprises/Supportive Services
provides On-The-Job Training programs and other services to minority owned Highway Construction
businesses. Through On-The-Job Training, the Center retrains displaced minority workers in Highway
Construction. Additionally, COBA’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides broader
technical and management assistance to small businesses and prospective business owners.
In the spirit of the NACIE commitment letter, ASU’s membership in the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers
Association (AAMA) facilitates a collaborative relationship with local industry. The university organizes
faculty and student study-tours, seminars, and workshops with local manufacturers. These include
Hyundai, Mercedes Benz, Honda assembly plants, and ThyssenKrupp.
2
Comments by:
Ms. Janel Bell Haynes, Chair, Business Administration Department, Alabama State University;
Dr. Le-Quita J Booth, Dean, College of Business Administration/Director, the Disadvantaged Businesses Enterprise (DBE), Alabama State University;
Dr. Kamal Hingorani, Chair of Computer Information Systems, Alabama State University; and
Dr. William Pickard, Entrepreneur in Residence, Alabama State University, Chairman and CEO of Global Automotive Alliance, LLC.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-7
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Student Entrepreneurship
Through a curriculum that combines theoretical and practical interdisciplinary learning, ASU offers an
Entrepreneurship Minor for both Business and non-Business Major students. Additionally, the Center of
Excellence for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration (COBA), in close cooperation
with accomplished and successful entrepreneurs, inspires and teaches the entrepreneurial spirit to
students through several programs that will contribute to the economic development of the state of
Alabama and the broader southern region. These programs include:
•
The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Lecture Series, pairs some of the most successful
entrepreneurs in the black community with ASU’s student entrepreneurs in vibrant
practitioner lecture series;
•
Women in Business Experience, provides coaching, training and peer support for
women-owned businesses through various stages of development; and
•
Development of Communities, targets communities within 2 miles of the ASU campus to
address blighted conditions, and infuse ASU’s entrepreneurial spirit to improve various
sectors including residential and commercial housing.
vi
The Center of Excellence for International Business will internationalize ASU’s innovation and
entrepreneurship by providing opportunities for faculty, students, and the business community to
develop and broaden their international business expertise and cross-cultural understanding.
•
Foreign Study Tours: Implement overseas week-long study-tours to South Korea and
China with assistance from ASU’s global university partners–the ChungAng University in
Seoul, Korea; and the Fudan University in Shanghai, China;
•
Domestic Study Tours: Organize study-tours for students and faculty to seminars,
workshops, and manufacturing facilities (such as Hyundai, Mercedes Benz, Honda, and
ThyssenKrupp) within the state of Alabama that involve global business; and
•
NASBITE Certiied Global Business Professional Club (CGBP): Establish a student club
that will foster an educational and cultural environment in which students who have an
interest in international business and CGBP certiication can share ideas and experiences.
In addition to these initiatives, the College of Business Administration (COBA) & the Center for
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Change (CEIC) will host the Business Empowerment Series on
Thursday, March 15, 2012 from 5pm – 7pm.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
ASU faculty members will also beneit from the Center of Excellence for International Business
through the following entrepreneurship initiatives:
A-8
•
FDIB: Provide faculty training in international business (through CIBERs and other
programs) to facilitate higher standards in teaching and research;
•
Promote faculty development and research in International Business;
•
Seminar Series: Organize quarterly seminars conducted by experts on International
Business both from academia and industry; and
•
Trade Missions: Support faculty participation in Governor of Alabama’s trade and
business development missions.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
University Technology Transfer Functions
ASU does not have a tech transfer ofice in the conventional sense. However, The Small Business
vii
Development Center (SBDC) at ASU provides technical and management assistance to small
businesses and prospective business owners. As an institutional member of the Alabama Small Business
Development NETWORK the SBDC is one of twelve University-based business assistance sources
located throughout the state of Alabama.
The SBDC is committed to providing quality technology transfer services, in addition to other functions
to businesses in an eight-county catchment area including—Autauga, Bullock, Chambers, Coosa, Elmore,
Lowndes, Montgomery, and Tallapoosa counties—in Central Alabama.
In addition, the Center of Excellence for International Business has been instrumental in ASU
becoming one of the few universities that have won the prestigious Business and International Education
grant from the US Department of Education for two consecutive cycles.
University-Industry Collaboration
The Center of Excellence for International Business also plays a crucial role in ASU-industry
collaboration. The Center will conduct the following:
•
Workshops on Exporting and Strategic Sourcing will be conducted in association
with our industry partners. These summer workshops will seek to assist SMEs with their
export and strategic sourcing
•
Roundtables on Global Accounting Issues will include roundtables that focus on
fundamentals and ine points of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS),
international accounting, transfer pricing, auditing, tax issues, and how to do business in
diverse regions of the world
•
New Website: The Center will develop, host, and maintain a new web site for International
Business Resources for the community
Regional and Local Economic Development
The Disadvantaged Businesses Enterprise (DBE) department within ASU’s College of Business
viii
Administration is leading a major effort to increase job creation in the state of Alabama . This initiative
includes a summit held January 20, 2012 to introduce the Alabama Works, Alabama Wins project which
aims to boost competitiveness among Alabama’s contractors, and therefore their ability to create jobs
in the state.
As part of ASU’s commitment to Alabama Works, Alabama Wins program, the university will establish
the Emerging Contractors program. This program will among other services, provide classes for
subcontractors to help them develop increased business skills for the construction industry. Subcontractors
who complete the program will be placed on the bidders list for construction jobs in the state.
The Emerging Contractors program will adopt the curriculum that is used by the Alabama chapter of
Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC).
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-9
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of ASU’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
— Why, or why not?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
Alabama State University (ASU) is small university by population, and does not appear to have the
beneit of large budgets that is common in typical Association of American Universities (AAU) member
schools. It can however be argued that dollar-for-dollar, ASU derives similar levels of academic and
entrepreneurial outputs with its larger counterparts.
Even so, there are lessons from larger university innovation programs in scale, impact, program rigor, and
access to capital that may be applicable to ASU. The Ofice of Innovation & Entrepreneurship university
innovation case studies should be a good starting point for ASU’s faculty to compare innovative practices.
Comments by Ms. Janel Bell Haynes and her colleagues have been instructive in better understanding
Alabama State University’s various innovative entrepreneurship programs, as well as the impact of the
NACIE commitment letter on the school’s strategic plan and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks Alabama State University’s assistance with this
case study, and looks forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s
innovation infrastructure.
A-10
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
Arizona State University (ASU)
3
Overview – A New American University
President Michael M. Crow has positioned ASU as the model for a New American University. A model
that measures success not by who it excludes, but by who it includes; a model that pursues research and
discovery that beneit the public good and assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and
cultural vitality as well as the health and well-being of the community.
The Ofice of University Initiatives (UI) is a cultural catalyst at ASU. UI helps ASU meet its innovation
needs by connecting ideas with people and resources to make an impact. Through collaboration with
other ofices and departments across the university, in addition to state, national and international
leaders, UI helps to shape and realize ASU’s innovation goals. Much of UI’s work falls into ive overlapping
categories: advancing ASU’s New American University agenda, entrepreneurship, social embeddedness,
university innovation, and education9. UI is the chief advocate for entrepreneurial thinking and activity
across the university.
The Edson Student Entrepreneurship Initiative is ASU’s premier student start-up competition. This year,
students can win up to $20,000 in funding, as well as mentoring and ofice space to advance their venture
ideas. Non-proit and for-proit initiatives are both encouraged. And students have responded with a
number of innovative ventures. The G3Box project focuses on converting steel shipping containers into
medical grade clinics by outitting them with the basic components of power, ventilation, potable water,
and insulation to create sustainable medical clinics that address critical health needs in poor countries.
ASU has a unique two-distinct Engineering School model. The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering is
the lagship traditional school, while the College of Technology and Innovation embodies the values
of engaged learning, including a strong connection with industry and entrepreneurship. The hands-on
approach model of the latter school requires students to build and design solutions to meet real industry
needs; the model appears to be making an economic impact.
The engineering irm Honeywell, recently hired all College of Technology and Innovation students who
worked on a successful airplane breaking system. Separately from that, the city of Chandler, Arizona
approved a 50-year lease with the College of Technology and Innovation. The city will retroit a building
to house the College’s teaching and research programs. These programs are estimated to provide a
$23.8 million economic impact in the next ive years, by providing the intellectual capital for the city’s
high tech companies such as Intel.
Even with successful and innovative programs, about 20 percent of the university’s population may
not fully accept change. However, experience provides a helpful ameliorative blueprint. Consistency
and a clear articulation of the president’s vision usually earn the respect of skeptics. ASU’s quest as a
New American University has also been helped by the President’s intuitive understanding of internal
constituencies, and an ability to maintain enough dynamism to make concessions where necessary.
President Crow has also built a capable and competent senior leadership team. Most importantly, ASU’s
leadership team recognizes that innovation, by necessity, means not being constrained by conventional
thinking. Thus with creativity, there are no obstacles that cannot be managed.
Just as a bell, innovation without movement does not ring. So go ahead, let innovation ring - join the
movement for a New American University.
3
Comments by: James O’Brien, Vice President, & Chief of Staff Ofice Of The President
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-11
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Below is an enumeration of ASU’s programs and initiatives that support the ive buckets in the NACIE
sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
At ASU, entrepreneurship is about bringing innovative ideas out into the world. These ideas might be
socially, economically, artistically or intellectually motivated, or some combination thereof.
At ASU, entrepreneurship is not concentrated in just the ield of business, nor is it housed in an
entrepreneurial institute or school. Instead, entrepreneurship opportunities are offered in and out of the
classroom, and in a wide variety of programs departments and schools. These include:
X
The Edson Student Entrepreneurship Initiative that harnesses the entrepreneurial energy, excitement
and creativity of ASU’s student body. It provides funding, ofice space and training for teams of students
across the university to explore their innovative ideas for business products and services. These teams
typically work in partnership with faculty, researchers and successful entrepreneurs from both the
academic and private sectors. The Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative has been made possible by an
investment of $5.4 million from Orin Edson to the Arizona State University Foundation.
•
Funding: The endowment provides a total of $200,000 annually in seed funding.
– Each year, 10 to 15 teams will be granted $5,000 to $20,000 to subsidize expenses
for developing their new venture. Money granted could be used for such things as
market research, building a prototype, and legal fees
•
Ofice Space: Winning teams are awarded ofice space at SkySong, located in South
Scottsdale, through their award year.
– The SkySong facility provides a professional setting for early stage entrepreneurs
to develop their ventures and also to interact and learn from peer entrepreneurs,
local, and international businesses
•
Training and Coaching: Throughout the award year teams participate in a series of
workshops with guest speakers that include successful entrepreneurs and professionals
with relevant expertise
– Team members are offered entrepreneurial training courses at SkySong and/
or nonproit training courses by ASU’s Center for Nonproit Leadership and
Management. Teams are also provided ongoing entrepreneurial coaching by
Edson staff.
xi
ASU Innovation Challenge seeks undergraduate and graduate students who are dedicated to making
a difference in the local and global communities through innovation. Students can win up to $10,000 to
make their innovative project, prototype, venture or community partnership ideas happen.
•
Students are provided opportunities to practice their skills in teamwork, leadership,
project development, business plan creation, public speaking, and network creation
xii
The Performing Arts Venture Experience (P.A.V.E) paves the way to the future of the arts by investing
in student innovation and creativity, supporting arts entrepreneurship education and undertaking
entrepreneurial activities. Funded by a generous grant by the Kauffman Foundation, there are four major
components of P.A.V.E:
•
Arts entrepreneurship classes such as Foundations of Arts Entrepreneurship, Arts
Entrepreneurship Seminar, Theatre Organization and Management and Independent Film;
•
Investment in, and support for, student initiated arts-based ventures, both for- and
not-for-proit;
•
Faculty development and research in arts entrepreneurship; and
•
Public programming on arts entrepreneurship including speakers, workshops and symposia.
A-12
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
xiii
10,000 Solutions is a place to showcase and collect innovative ideas that solve local and global
challenges. ASU views this project as an experiment that leverages the power of collaborative wisdom
to create a solutions bank. The 10,000 Solutions Project explores what can be accomplished when
passionate people join a community that works together to build upon each other’s innovative ideas
and create change.
Funding: The program is funded by Kauffman Campuses Initiative which supports innovation and
entrepreneurship at ASU and beyond. The program provides up to $10,000 to fund good ideas from
students, staff, faculty and community members.
The Cronkite School students (and faculty) are encouraged to submit ideas for Knight News Challenge
(and won) and for J-Lab Women Entrepreneurs grants. Those winners are heralded as much as winners
of journalism contests
ASU also strives to deliver research breakthroughs and achieve discovery in a broad range of strategic
xiv
research areas including :
•
The New Media Innovation Lab, Operated by the Cronkite School, is a research and
development program designed to help media companies create new and exciting
multimedia products. The lab brings together students from across campus – journalism,
business, computer engineering and design, to develop a variety of products, including
an iPhone app and widgets and Facebook applications.
•
The ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation has had more than $27.5 million
in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other corporate agencies since
2005. The research focus of ASU nursing and health program provides short and longterm economic beneits. In the short term, Arizona beneits economically from grant
funding. In the longer term, Arizonans beneit from medical improvements in research
indings, and the commercial impact of potential tech transfer.
•
The Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI), located at ASU, has
been a pioneer in algae research as a source of low-cost, sustainable biofuel.The Laboratory
was contracted by the Department of Energy to research and develop algae conversion.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
xv
ASU’s The Pathways to Entrepreneurship Grant (PEG) program provides funding to faculty/staff who
wish to implement or enhance entrepreneurship curricular or co-curricular programs. The following
programs all have some roots grounded in the in the Pathways to Entrepreneurship Grant.
Innovation Advancement Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law: This program provides
legal and consulting services to start-up enterprises and entrepreneurs.
•
Team Leader: Eric Menkus, Innovation Advancement Program Director. Amount
Awarded: $90,000. Number of Grants Awarded: 2.
InnovationSpace at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts: Team Leader: Prasad Boradkar,
InnovationSpace Program Director. Amount Awarded: $115,000. Number of Grants Awarded: 4
•
Grant funding introduces students to design concepts based on resilience theory (the
ability of individuals to recover from destabilizing life events, such as a serious illness)
and biomimicry (design inspired by nature). Students also worked with a local company
to design toys for autistic children.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-13
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
The following programs are run from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:
•
First Innovations: Team Leader: Pat Mariella, American Indian Policy Institute Director.
Amount Awarded: $68,000. Number of Grants Awarded: 1
– Grant funding provided for a two-day workshop, which was subsequently developed
into three ASU courses and a summer program for high school students.
•
Phoenix Innovation Study: Team Leader: Sander van der Leeuw, School of Human
Evolution and Social Change Director. Amount Awarded: $33,000. Number of Grants
Awarded: 1
– Funded research on ethnographic
Scottsdale Innovation Center.
•
study
of
SkySong,
the
ASU
Social Innovation and Social Enterprise: Team Leader: Vanna Gonzales, School of Social
Transformation Assistant Professor. Amount Awarded: $30,000. Number of Grants Awarded: 1
– Grant funding enables students to work with local social entrepreneurs to
advance their organization’s goals through innovation.
The following programs are run out of the College of Technology and Innovation:
•
Global Resolve: Team Leader: Mark Henderson, Global Resolve Director. Amount
Awarded: $59,000. Number of Grants Awarded: 2
– Funds development of capstone courses that engage students in creating ventures in
developing countries using technologies that solve local challenges. These courses
are now part of the core courses for the social entrepreneurship focus in the
technological entrepreneurship and management degree program.
•
Startup Weekend ASU: Team Leader: Kevin Gary, College of Technology and Innovation
Associate Professor. Amount Awarded: $39,000. Number of Grants Awarded: 1
– Funding supports the development of courses in software entrepreneurship and
launched the inaugural Startup Weekend at ASU.
The Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College runs the Advancing P-20 Education Through Innovation and
Entrepreneurship ($5k), and the Innovation in Social Educational Entrepreneurship (I-SEE) ($30k).
University Technology Transfer Functions
xvi
Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE) is the technology venture arm of Arizona State University. In
addition to ASU technologies, AzTE also manages technologies developed by ASU’s partner universities,
Dublin City University in Ireland (through its technology commercialization organization, Invent DCU
Limited) and Tec de Monterrey in Mexico. AzTE is located at SkySong and works in collaboration with
ASU’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship to bolster these relationships. AzTE collaborates with each
university to protect and commercialize their intellectual property in the United States.
ASU also has a number of activities focused on student entrepreneurship, global company attraction,
and investor network development. The addition of technology transfer to international collaborations
increases the likelihood that global discoveries will be commercialized utilizing Arizona networks.
Over time, ASU’s development of vibrant global networks is expected to positively impact economic
development in the State.
•
Among U.S. institutions with at least $200 million in research expenditures, AzTE ranked
in the top ten for invention disclosures, licenses and options, and startups formed per
$10 million in research.
•
ASU faculty submitted a record 187 invention disclosures in the iscal year 2010. ASU
expects these inventions will provide the technology inventory for the next generation
of new deals or startups .
A-14
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
University-Industry Collaboration
The Sensor, Signal and Information Processing Center and Consortium (SenSIP) at ASU has been
designated a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Collaborative Research Center. The
consortium researchers have provided the mathematical and algorithmic groundwork for technology
used in security systems, consumer electronics, medicine health care, nanotechnology, and other
technologies including global positioning systems.
The Aerospace and Defense Research Collaboratory, a consortium between ASU, UA and EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University, is intended to bridge the gap between education and industry through
research. The Collaboratory is housed on ASU’s Polytechnic campus in the College of Technology and
Innovation.
•
This research initiative is expected to boost Arizona’s economy, as well as attract other
big corporations to the state.
xvii
ASU’s Biodesign Institute in collaboration with industry is engaged in a $5 million, four-year project
to identify protein biomarkers that could predict cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes.
The collaboration is sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK--part of the National Institutes of Health). Other collaborators in the project include Pizer and
the Phoenix VA Healthcare System. The money comes from a fund that is designed to support scientists
from different disciplines to work together on a common problem.
Other ASU industry collaborations include: Adaptive Intelligent Materials and Systems Center (AIMS);
Advanced Technology Innovation Center; Arizona Institute for Nano-Electronics (AINE), and the Arizona
State University Research Park.
Regional and Local Economic Development
ASU’s unique assets – including intellectual capital, advanced facilities and student talent – are invaluable
in developing a regional economic ecosystem where innovation-based irms can thrive. As a regional
economic engine, ASU injects revenue back into the community through student, visitor, and staff
spending, and by providing a stable source of employment for thousands of Arizonans.
More speciically, ASU provides the following economic impact in the regional and local economic
xviii
development :
•
ASU directly employs over 20,000 Arizonans, generating $961 million in wages;
•
Spending by visitors to ASU or sponsored events generated $69 million;
•
ASU student spending directly generates $248 million of labor income in the state of
Arizona;
•
ASU employee and student spending pumps over $1.8 billion into the local economy
every year; and
•
Arizona taxpayers invest $386 million a year in ASU, and realize a $3.4 billion economic
yield on their investment.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-15
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of ASU’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket, especially regional and local
economic impact?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
How has ASU’s one university in many places (multiple campus & online) model
hindered or helped faculty and student innovation?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
Mr. James O’Brien’s comments have been instructive in better understanding ASU’s leadership role
in promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of research in the nation’s
universities, in addition to the impact of the NACIE commitment letter in framing ASU’s strategic plans
and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks ASU’s assistance with this case study, and looks
forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation infrastructure.
A-16
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Commercialization of Research at
the Georgia Institute of Technology
4
Overview – A Focus on Industry and Collaboration
The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, is part of
the University System of Georgia. Established in the 1880s on the heels of the Industrial Revolution, Georgia
Tech’s mission has always focused on assisting industry. For example, the university’s basic and applied
research efforts have been instrumental for the global aerospace industry, with Georgia Tech scientists
playing key roles in the development of radar and other light technologies. Georgia Tech focuses intently on
the basic-to-applied research continuum throughout its comprehensive research programs in engineering,
xix
physical and life sciences, computing, and policy. Georgia Tech’s Strategic Vision and Plan infuses a focus
on innovation and entrepreneurism across the spectrum of basic and applied research as well as in its
educational programs. Viewed in broad themes, research at Georgia Tech includes work in:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Big Data;
Biotechnology and Biomedicine;
Electronics and Nanotechnology;
Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics;
Materials;
National Security;
Paper and Science Technology;
People and Technology;
Public Service, Leadership, and Policy;
Robotics;
Sustainable Infrastructure and Energy; and
Systems.
Georgia Tech’s culture embodies a collaborative approach. It enlists outside partners and contributors
including academic, governmental, industry, and nonproit institutions in an effort to better understand
and ensure the beneit of research to the nation. In 1937, Georgia Tech established what is now the
Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), an internal outpost for engineering experimentation and
entrepreneurial applications of engineering, science, and technology. Georgia Tech also operates the
oldest and largest university-based business incubator in the United States, the Advanced Technology
Development Center, which was established in the 1980s to provide a range of services and facilities
xx
for entrepreneurs to launch and build new companies. Recognized by Forbes in 2010 , the Advanced
Technology Development Center has graduated 143 new companies, which have helped create millions
of dollars in revenues and which together have attracted nearly $2.5 billion in capital activity. Capital
activity includes venture capital funding, other investment, and the value of mergers and acquisitions.
Georgia Tech incorporates several strategies to ensure that it continually improves and expands its services
to industry. To ensure it meets its iduciary responsibilities and maintains public trust and conidence, the
university continually strives to reduce bureaucratic barriers and modify underperforming initiatives. For
example, the university has launched the Georgia Tech Integrated Program for Startups, GT:IPS™, which
combines a streamlined licensing program with organized support for faculty and student inventorentrepreneurs. The program provides information and education for entrepreneurs to help them form
stronger, more successful companies, and the streamlined GT:IPS license agreement helps simplify
negotiations and “take the drama off the table.”
Three of Georgia Tech’s more recent initiatives to promote innovation and entrepreneurship based on
broad stakeholder partnerships include Flashpoint, NSF I-Corps, and the Global Center for Medical
Innovation. Flashpoint, a Georgia Tech startup accelerator program established in 2011, encourages
basic and applied research and facilitates their transfer to the marketplace through entrepreneurial
education and access to experienced mentors, experts, investors, and stars in an open, immersive,
shared-learning workspace.
4
Comments by Jilda D. Garton, Vice Provost for Research, General Manager, GTRC and GTARC
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-17
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
In July 2012, Georgia Tech was named as a node for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program.
former NSF Director Subra Suresh described I-Corps as a program to “leverage productive publicprivate partnerships and extend the impact of fundamental research discoveries.” He noted that it has
“inspired the research and business communities to collaborate in new ways.” Georgia Tech is serving as
a teaching site for the hands-on I-Corps curriculum.
Finally, the Global Center for Medical Innovation, which opened in 2012 with support from the Economic
Development Authority’s i6 Program, will bring together core members of the medical device community
— including universities, research centers, clinicians, established device and drug companies, investors,
and early-stage companies — with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of innovative medical
technology.
The NACIE commitment letter was broadly disseminated to Georgia Tech faculty and administrators
and elicited general consensus prior to President Peterson’s endorsement. University stakeholders who
were invited to review and comment on the letter were found to be already committed to its expressed
ideas and goals. The letter’s real impact was to add “force” and “intentionality” to Georgia Tech’s
innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer strategic vision by providing a time scale for faculty and
administration efforts, documenting their commitment, and holding them accountable.
Innovation and entrepreneurism are hallmarks of educational programs as well as research and technology
transfer. Problem-based learning gives students an opportunity to develop ideas and technologies
xxi
within their disciplines, and increasingly, activities such as the General Electric Smart Grid Challenge
provide a venue for companies to explore disruptive concepts through student engagement.
Below is an enumeration of several Georgia Tech programs and initiatives that support the ive buckets
in the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
Students at Georgia Tech are an active part of research and discovery. In fact, over 70 percent of
invention disclosures name one or more students among the inventors. As part of a broader effort to
foster innovation and entrepreneurship within its student community, Georgia Tech has several initiatives,
including:
•
Georgia Tech Integrated Program for Startups, GT:IPS — An initiative that supports
faculty and student inventor-entrepreneurs through two components: GT:IPS Facilitation,
a graduated program of support, information, and education for new company founders;
and GT:IPS License, which offers the same terms to all Georgia Tech startups in the same
ield and provides them with transparency into Georgia Tech Research Corporation’s
(GTRC) licensing processes.
•
InVenture™ Prize
— An annual competition that inspires undergraduate teams to
create inventions that will be judged by experts for more than $30,000 in cash prizes
from Georgia Tech and sponsoring corporations. First and second place winners receive
patent ilings funded by GTRC, and in March 2011, a “People’s Choice” award was
sponsored by NCR Corporation.
•
TI:GER — An award-winning program and partnership between Georgia Tech and Emory
University School of Law that brings together PhD, MBA, and law students to experience
the challenges of commercializing innovative technologies. Now approaching its 10th
anniversary in 2012, TI:GER is expanding to global entrepreneurship and has become
an established part of the entrepreneurial education of graduate students on both
campuses.
•
Business Plan Competition — An annual competition, now in its 11th year, held by the
Scheller College of Business and the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship
to foster entrepreneurship among Georgia Tech students and recent alumni. Since its
inception, more than 650 participants have received approximately $570,000 in cash
and services, and each year several teams launch companies to take their product
concepts to market. To date, eight winning teams have been accepted into Georgia
Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center.
A-18
xxii
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
•
Ideas to SERVE (I2S) — An annual competition of ideas where creativity, imagination, and
the use of technology are applied innovatively to solve community and social issues and
sustain the environment. Started as a specialty track of the Business Plan Competition
in 2009, I2S has quickly grown into a separate event, contributing to Georgia Tech’s
portfolio of programs that foster entrepreneurship. I2S is open to Georgia Tech students
and recent alumni.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
Georgia Tech has several awards and programs to incentivize faculty to mentor graduate students, or
themselves, to pursue innovative research and entrepreneurial ideas. These include:
xxi
•
Bio-impact Commercialization Team (BCT) — An initiative focusing on research in
biomedicine whereby faculty members and the venture capital community work closely
with experts in the biomedical device space to facilitate translational research and
commercialization. The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation will fund the BCT’s translational
research and development projects.
•
The Georgia Tech Fund for Innovation in Research and Education (GT FIRE) — A
program that facilitates planning for large extramural proposals — those of strategic
value to the Institute that have more than $500,000 in direct costs per year—and provides
support for feasibility studies of transformative ideas in research and/or education. This
past spring, faculty submitted 42 transformative proposals, from which three researchrelated ideas and four education-related ideas were selected for funding.
University Technology Transfer Functions
•
The Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) — The contracting entity responsible
for several of the university’s tech transfer and licensing processes. GTRC also aims
to accelerate the formation of robust Georgia Tech spinout companies and broaden
participation in entrepreneurship among faculty and students. In addition, GTRC has
revised master agreement terms and developed new template agreements to meet the
needs of industry sponsors as technologies progress in development.
•
Georgia Tech VentureLab — A one-stop-shop providing comprehensive assistance
to faculty, research staff, and graduate students who want to take their technology
innovations from the laboratory to the commercial market. VentureLab specialists help
these innovators “start up” by assisting in business plan development, connecting them
with experienced entrepreneurs, and locating sources of early-stage inancing, including
seed grants from the Georgia Research Alliance. The program has fostered, on average,
one new spinout each month over the last three years.
•
Georgia Tech Edison Fund — A source for modest investments into early-stage
technology startups that have a strong connection to Georgia Tech. This fund makes use
of targeted charitable contributions from Georgia Tech alumni and friends.
University-Industry Collaboration
•
University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP) — An activity of the National
Academies that works to demonstrate innovative approaches to research engagement
and improve relationships with private industry for research and commercialization of
inventions. Georgia Tech has been a member and active participant since the UIDP was
founded in 2005. The recently published Researcher Guide, a collaborative effort of
UIDP university and industry members, provides information for university and company
scientists and engineers who wish to engage in sponsored or collaborative research.
•
The Ofice of Industry Collaborations and Afiliated Licenses (ICAL)
— An
organization that works in close coordination with faculty, academic units, and
university ofices, including the Ofice of Sponsored Programs, Ofice of Innovation
Commercialization and Translational Research, Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²), and
Advanced Technology Development Center, in their partnerships with private industry to
help promote industry-sponsored research and further technology commercialization.
Types of agreements facilitated by ICAL include nondisclosure, industry collaboration,
consortium, memorandum of understanding, center bylaws, testing, and SBIR.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
xxiii
A-19
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Regional and Local Economic Development
An economic impact study by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry
xxiv
College of Business
indicates that Georgia Tech made a $2.3 billion economic impact during the
iscal year 2011, the highest of any institution in the University System of Georgia (USG). The study also
found that Georgia Tech generated 18,640 full- and part-time jobs. Most of the economic impact in the
study consists of initial spending by USG institutions for salaries and beneits, supplies and expenses,
and other budgeted expenditures, as well as spending by students who attend the institutions.
Georgia Tech also impacts the local and regional economy in several others ways, including:
•
Research partnerships with business and industry in the state of Georgia and throughout
xxv
the Southeast;
•
Economic development services to help make Georgia’s small and medium-sized
businesses and communities more innovative and eficient;
•
The more than 48,000 Georgia Tech alumni who live and work in the state;
•
Research labs that produce more than 300 invention disclosures annually;
•
A strong patent portfolio, ranked eighth among the top 124 universities according to the
2009 Universities Patent Scorecard ;
•
Spinning off an average of ten new companies a year;
•
The Economic Development Authority i6 grant, which Georgia Tech received in 2010 to
support innovation and entrepreneurship and boost the quality of high-growth startups
in the region. EDA funding has helped advance economic development activities
through Georgia Tech’s University Center of Excellence and also through a recent Jobs
Accelerator award, where Georgia Tech partners with Gwinnett Tech to prepare students
for work in health information technology; and
•
EI , which serves Georgia through a network of industry specialists located in nine regions
throughout the state. These specialists provide local businesses with direct technical and
engineering assistance, professional education courses, networking opportunities, and
connections to Georgia Tech resources.
2
2
During iscal year 2011 alone, Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI ):
•
Evaluated 219 Georgia Tech innovations and helped form 17 new companies based on
this intellectual property, which attracted nearly $100 million in investment;
•
Helped manufacturing companies reduce operating costs by $35 million, increase
sales by $191 million, and create or save 950 jobs through the Georgia Manufacturing
Extension Partnership program, a program funded by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the state of Georgia, and industry
clients;
•
Assisted 493 start-up technology companies through the Advanced Technology
Development Center. These companies attracted nearly $100 million in venture capital
investment and mergers/acquisitions; and
•
Helped Georgia companies win $492 million in government contracts, creating an
estimated 9,843 jobs through the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center.
A-20
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of Georgia Tech’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s buckets?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a top-10 public research university and an Association of
American Universities (AAU) member school. Jilda Garton’s comments have been instructive in better
understanding Georgia Tech’s many entrepreneurship, research, and technology transfer programs, in
addition to the impact of the NACIE commitment letter in framing Georgia Tech’s strategic plans and
institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks Georgia Tech’s assistance with this case study
and looks forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation
infrastructure.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-21
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
Howard University in Washington, DC
5
Overview – Making the Commitment
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-proit, private, co-educational and historically black
university located in Washington, D.C. It has a Carnegie Classiication of Institutions of Higher Education
status of RU/H: Research Universities, which signiies high research activity.
The President of Howard University is Dr. Sidney A. Ribeau, and the Dean of the Business School is
Barron H. Harvey, Ph.D. Dr Harvey, who is a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation
and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) and is a major advocate for the innovation, entrepreneurship, and
commercialization programs at Howard.
As a comprehensive, research-oriented university, Howard’s mission is to provide a high quality
educational experience at a reasonable cost to people of both genders and all races. In addition to
the undergraduate program, Howard has several graduate schools and colleges. Howard’s business
school facilitates several entrepreneurship programs and competitions, while several technology based
initiatives are managed by the science schools and colleges.
Howard has many of the foundational pieces that are necessary to realize its innovation and
commercialization potential. The university is a member of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure
Network (NNIN), an integrated partnership of fourteen user facilities that is supported by National
Science Foundation (NSF). Howard’s research lab provides opportunities for nanoscience and
nanotechnology research. The Howard Nanoscale Science and Engineering Facility (HNF) facilitates
research and development in diverse areas including electronics, materials science, optics, polymer
science, membrane technology, medicine, physics and chemistry.
NNIN laboratories including Howard’s HNF have been accessed by over 6,000 users, and over 1,500 small
companies use the facility as incubator; this has been resulting in the spinoff of several small companies.
Academic users, such as university faculty and students who primarily use the facility for research, are
charged a nominal fee. Corporate fees are marginally higher, and the relatively small fee negates the
need for price discrimination between large and small irms. Companies may also permanently station
staffers at the lab, without losing full rights to their research and development (R&D). Many federally
funded facilities are now modeled after the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network.
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) afiliated businesses are encouraged by Howard
to conduct their Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) activities at HNF. Student
involvement is encouraged either through individual projects or partnerships with faculty and HNF
corporate clients. This model of a “shared research lab facility” represents a cultural shift, especially
for typically sheltered corporate research. Paradoxically, scarce and increasingly competitive research
grants and high equipment costs are barriers that have been fostering this collaborative culture. Even
so, hiccups remain. Despite being in operation for decades, the lab - just like many others around the
country - is not yet self-sustaining.
These hiccups are not limited to HNF facilities. Several entrepreneurship programs and competitions
at Howard’s Business School may be shrunk or eliminated due to limited funding. Consequently, the
evolved philosophy at Howard is to build a staple of research that would interest industry. A professional
outside party now has marketing responsibilities for research outputs, and outside counsel has been
retained to handle patent ilings for the Tech Transfer Ofice.
Howard University intends to establish a culture of entrepreneurship throughout the university and
considers OIE’s outreach an afirmation of on-going innovation and entrepreneurship advocacy within the
university. However, uncertainty over the long-term prospect of several innovation and entrepreneurship
programs suggests that Howard’s chances of reaching its innovation potential will be better enhanced
5
Comments by:
Barron Harvey, Ph.D., Dean, Howard University School of Business;
Gary Harris, Ph.D., Director, Howard University Nanoscale Science and Engineering Facility (HNF); and
John Gloster, J.D., Senior Associate General Counsel, Howard University.
A-22
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
by unequivocal, strong, and consistent support by the university president and his leadership team. The
foundations of innovation and entrepreneurship are present; they now require a strong commitment by
the president and his team.
Below is an enumeration of Howard University programs and initiatives that support the ive buckets in
the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
Howard University was one of eight institutions selected by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
in a nationwide competition to receive a multi-million dollar grant as part of the Kauffman Campuses
Initiative to develop an entrepreneurial climate across college campuses in America. The program seeks
to transform the way entrepreneurship is taught and experienced so that any student, regardless of their
ield of study, will have the opportunity to participate.
The Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Innovation Institute (ELI) was thus created, with matching
support from Howard University and other partners. ELI seeks to provide the skills, tools and orientation
required for entrepreneurial development and success in the African-American and minority communities
with particular emphasis on providing educational opportunities for all stakeholders. The ELI’s Executive
Director is Ms. Johnetta Boseman Hardy, and she has oversight of the following initiatives:
•
Entrepreneurship at Howard actively counsels and mentors students with ideas for
new businesses, or seeking assistance in improving their business model
•
Each month, the ELI Institute features a student start-up at Howard University
– Featured start-ups are ventures that are innovative, have participated in the
bi-weekly BlackMarketplace, or have had considerable growth in clientele, sales,
or visibility on-campus or in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area
•
Black Market Place showcases businesses owned by Howard students, alumni, faculty, and staff
•
Entrepreneur of the Year is an ELI Institute award given to prominent and exceptional
on-campus entrepreneurs. The award recognizes Howard students who have built
impactful and worthwhile business ventures, excelled in academics, and exhibited a
meaningful dedication to the community at-large through service.
•
Annual Business Plan Competition
is an ELI Institute co-sponsored business plan
competition for Howard University students. The top 4 winners receive cash prizes. First
place winner(s) receive $10,000, second place winner(s) receive $6,500, third place
winner(s) receive $3,000, and lastly an Award for Special Presentation of $500.
•
Concept 120
is a business plan contest held each semester that emphasizes the
elevator pitch. Students develop their ideas and sales pitch as if they were in front of a
potential investor or business client – the bulk of the contest depends on the contestants’
ability to sell an idea.
•
The StartUp Scramble DC University Challenge
brings entrepreneurially-minded
college students from DC universities together for a weekend-long event to build and
launch sustainable ventures that address social issues affecting local communities
•
ELI Institute offers an array of academic programs for the students
xxvi
xxvii
xxvii
xviii
– Undergraduate non-business majors can elect to minor in entrepreneurship;
– Graduate students can elect to concentrate in entrepreneurship; and
– All students are able to gain a certiicate in entrepreneurship.
In addition to current students, ELI Institute contributes to the entrepreneurial success of many Howard
xxix
University alums including Ike C. Nwaneri, one of the two co-founders of KEADWORKS LLC
and
xxx
KOJAMI Inc .
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-23
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Keadworks is a creative marketing and technology agency in the Washington DC Metro Area which has
launched successful campaigns for various industry clients.
Kojami Inc. is a company spawned out of Keadworks LLC to provide the following electronic services: It
is an events platform that has been widely adopted by event organizers, businesses and organizations
especially in the Washington metro region
•
The platform allows both individual and corporate event organizers to create an event
in 3 minutes or less and easily manage and track multiple elements of the event in one
simple dashboard;
•
Scheduled events can then be easily propagated through mobile phones as a mobile
application—recipients of the mobile event can also interact and SHOVE (share) the
mobile event; and
•
Recipients can also complete a one-touch GPS navigation search, view and join
conversations of each event in real-time, purchase and receive mobile tickets and most
importantly stay connected to the category of events desired.
Kojami in many ways is re-inventing the way people use mobile devices to create, manage, interact or
share (SHOVE) events.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
The ELI Institute also specializes in faculty training, and serves which enhance their role as repository
for a wide range of internal and external research. Additionally, ELI Institute’s Lecture Series, Annual
Conference on Entrepreneurship, and Fund for Academic Excellence spearheads innovation in teaching
entrepreneurship, and documenting trends.
xxxi
ELI Institute features two dedicated research directions for faculty
:
1.
Black Entrepreneurship and Business Development—Designed to explore African-American,
Caribbean, and African entrepreneurial models and approaches; and
2.
African-American/Urban Demographics—Identiies key trends in the community’s purchasing
power and habits that shape this trillion-dollar market. As well as explore ways for African-A
merican business to derive value from these trends.
The ELI Center for Research provides a national forum for learning about African-American entrepreneurs
and entrepreneurial ventures. The Center for Research will:
•
Provide fellowships for faculty, students, and other scholars to engage in fundamental and
practical research on entrepreneurship as it relates to the African-American community
(through fellowships and grants);
•
Publish a research journal, case studies, and white papers;
•
Host an annual symposium and conduct several conferences on critical research topics;
•
Create a clearinghouse for valuable data and information about African-American
entrepreneurs, market opportunities, and business development trends; and
•
HBCU Faculty Conference on Entrepreneurship will advise Howard University faculty
and their HBCU colleagues on methods to introduce concepts of entrepreneurship into
their courses, while also assuming leadership roles in infusing such thinking into the
broader curriculum on their campuses.
xxxii
In addition to the ELI Center, The Research Administration Services
facilitates and administers
interdisciplinary research capacity growth and indirect cost recovery at Howard University. This includes
integrated education and research strategies, professional development, and internal controls of
sponsored activities.
A-24
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
University Technology Transfer Functions
xxxiii
The Intellectual Property Center
is the central technology transfer resource for Howard University
researchers, inventors and investors. While Howard University Trademarks works to promote, enhance
and elevate the image of Howard University by authorizing the use of the university’s name and logos on
merchandise, Howard University requires that all individuals, organizations, departments and companies
-both internal and external - obtain prior approval before using any Howard indicia.
xxxiv
Notable inventions from research conducted at Howard University include
:
•
Nanotechnology - Industrial Lubricants: Metal Forming Fluids with Dispersed
Nanoparticles for Improved Lubrication, by Mosleh, Mohsen, Ph.D. et al.;
•
Electrical Engineering, Lighting Systems, LED Array Control: Localized Distributed
Control Method of LED Lighting Array and its Fixture, by Kim, Charles, Ph.D.; NS
•
Chemical Engineering, Clean Coal, Coal: Process for Removal of Hazardous Air
Pollutants from Coal, by Aluko, Mobolaji, Ph.D., et al.
Additionally, the Intellectual Property Center manages research outputs from several Howard University
Institutions, these include:
•
The Howard Nanoscale Science and Engineering Facility (HNF) and The Howard
University Cancer Center;
•
The Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease and Center for Energy Systems and
Controls (CESaC);
•
The NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS) and The Center for Drug Abuse
Research (CDAR);
•
The Institute for Multimedia Applications (IMA) and The Collaborative Alcohol Research
Center (CARC);
•
The Capstone Institute; and The Center for Pre-Professional Education;
•
The Center for Urban Progress (CUP) and The Howard University District of Columbia
Small Business Development Center (DCSBDC); and
•
The National Minority AIDS Education and Training Center (NMAETC); and The Howard
University Research Administration.
University-Industry Collaboration
Howard University is an educational outreach partner of the Smart Lighting Engineering Research
xxxv
Center . The Center develops new technologies and applications that will change the way society
uses lighting. Beyond illumination, Smart Lighting Systems will simultaneously provide high speed data
access and scan for biological and biochemical hazards.
•
More than 40 faculty members from multiple institutions with diverse backgrounds and
disciplines work together in teams on the Center’s research programs.
•
Constant contact with industrial and scientiic advisory boards ensures projects are
relevant, and work output is benchmarked to insure they are cutting edge.
Howard University has also partnered with the Center for Applied High Performance Computing (CAHPC)
xxxvi
on a project that applies data fusion to make supercomputing applications easy to use.
Howard University is also a participating member of the Power Systems Engineering Research Center
xxxvii
(PSERC)
, a university-industry collaboration focusing on research and education needs in the electric
power industry.
•
The Industrial Advisory Board (IAB), composed of PSERC industry members, meets twice
per year with PSERC researchers and students to conduct Center business, and engage
in discussions about the Center’s research and education activities.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-25
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
The Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science (GHUCCTS) is
a private industry-backed cooperative between the two universities. Bridgeline Digital, Inc., developer
of the award-winning iAPPS web experience management (WEM) platform and interactive technology
solutions, launched a new comprehensive website developed to support medical research collaboration
xxxviii
between Georgetown and Howard Universities
. GHUCCTS seeks to advance public health by
performing research that has positive impact on human health and well-being.
Regional and Local Economic Development
The Georgia Avenue, Development, Growth, and Enterprise Transformation Center (GADGET
xxxix
Center)
at Howard University School of Business is located on Georgia Avenue, and staffed by
graduate students and counselors from the DC SBDC at Howard University. GADGET provides free
consulting services to local businesses and will focus on growth and development of the commercial
district adjacent to Howard University.
More broadly, the District of Columbia Small Business Development Center Network (DC SBDC),
an outreach program of Howard University, has joined forces with the U.S. Small Business Administration
(SBA), other District of Columbia universities, and community organizations. This collaborative provides
free management, technical assistance, and affordable training in all phases of business development to
xl
small businesses based in the District of Columbia .
DC SBDC provides conidential, one-on-one management assistance at no cost to DC-based small
businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Business consulting services include but are not limited to cash
low analysis, inancial forecasting, market research, procurement assistance, proposal cost analysis,
overall business assessment “the business health checkup,” startup feasibility analysis, business plan
assessments, strategic planning and business start-up information.
In addition to the above mentioned initiatives, Howard University also confers a Minor in Community
xli
Development which is an interdisciplinary program intended to provide students with the knowledge,
tools, and practical experience to play a proactive role in community revitalization in cities throughout
the world.
Howard University also plays an integral role in neighborhood revitalization initiatives. As an example, it
partnered with the Washington, D.C., government, Fannie Mae, and other corporations to transform 45
abandoned, university-owned properties in a crime-ridden neighborhood into more than 300 housing
xlii
units and $65 million in commercial development .
xliii
Additionally, in 2010 Howard University had a workforce totaling 6,934 full—and part—time employees
(excluding students) of which approximately 28 percent (based on payroll disbursements) resided in the
District of Columbia representing an annual payroll of $103.8 million. Howard University also made an
estimated $94.5 million in non-payroll expenditures for goods and services to vendors and contractors
located within the District. As previously indicated, Howard University undertakes capital projects that
employ DC-based contractors and workers who reside in the City. Combined, payroll and non-payroll in
2010 within the District of Columbia totaled $198.3 million.
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of Howard’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket, especially regional and local economic
impact?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
A-26
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Conclusion
Howard University continues to outperform many HBCU universities in several critical categories and
recognition. It is, for example, the only HBCU University classiied as a RU/H: Research Universities (high
research activity) by Carnegie’s Classiication of Institutions of Higher Education.
Howard University also appears to leverage its Washington, D.C. location to attract public and private
funding. Howard is a private university which also enjoys partial funding by the U.S. Department of
Education to the tune of $235 million annually. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, through its
Kauffman Campuses Initiative, is also a major funder of several Howard University entrepreneurship and
innovation initiatives.
Howard University appears to be on the cusp of realizing its potential. However the University’s leadership
must now make a commitment to institute and promote cohesive innovation and entrepreneurship
programs, and institutional culture. And there is reason for optimism; The Dean of Howard University
School of Business, Barron H. Harvey, Ph.D., is a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation
and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). Dr. Harvey is also a tireless advocate for the innovation, entrepreneurship,
and commercialization programs at Howard.
Comments by Dr. Harvey and his colleagues have been instructive in better understanding Howard’s
various innovative entrepreneurship, research and technology transfer programs, as well as understanding
the impact of the NACIE commitment letter in framing Howard’s strategic plans and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks Howard University’s assistance with this case study,
and looks forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation
infrastructure.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-27
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio
6
Overview – Innovative First Among Equals
Lorain County Community College (LCCC) is a public, open-access community college located in Lorain
County, Ohio. In this way, it is just one of perhaps thousands of community colleges in the United States;
in truth, LCCC has differentiated its self from the pack in several innovative ways to become a unique and
arguably irst among equals community college.
LCCC is the only community college in Ohio that offers a University Partnership. This partnership enables
students to earn bachelors’ and masters’ degrees from any of eight Ohio universities without leaving the
xliv
LCCC campus . LCCC is also the irst college in the state of Ohio to build an advanced technologies
xlv
center for business and industry. Consequently, all LCCC students now have access to the Fab Lab ,
which is aligned with MIT.
LCCC’s Fab Lab is based on the concepts of Dr Neil Gershenfeld, the director of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology’s Center for Bits and Atoms. A Fab Lab is a collection of commercially available
machines that can be used to “make just about anything with features bigger than those of a computer
chip.” Realistically, it offers the tools needed to “conceptualize, design, develop, fabricate and test” a
xlvi
wide variety of things .
Lorain County Community College President is Dr. Roy A. Church, who is credited with leading the effort
to develop a regional University Partnership to improve local access to education by offering more than
40 bachelor and master degree programs from 8 area colleges and universities on LCCC’s campus.
This unique initiative eventually led to the formation of the Innovation Alliance between LCCC and the
University of Akron.
LCCC’s innovative entrepreneurship and commercialization initiatives have also been duly recognized.
President Obama has visited the school twice, and the college enjoys federal government support for
some of its critical programs. Even so, to realize its commitment to the National Association for Community
College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), LCCC has adopted strategies which include the ive buckets in the
NACIE-sponsored university commitment letter.
Below is an enumeration of LCCC programs and initiatives which support the ive buckets in the NACIE
sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
xlvii
As part of the Entrepreneurship Experiential Education Program , businesses that receive Innovation
Fund (IF) grants are provided opportunities for students, faculty and staff to experience irsthand what
it’s like to be an entrepreneur. This educational component is a unique feature of the IF funding process.
LCCC also offers the following academic programs, clubs and resources to better prepare students for
an entrepreneurial career:
Educational Opportunities
6
•
Innovation Fund Education Experience;
•
Associate of Applied Business - Entrepreneurship; and
•
Certiicate in Entrepreneurship.
Many of the comments are culled from LCCC Proud: http://www.lcccproud.com/community/dr-roy-a-church-of-lorain-county-communitycollege-to-receive-h-peter-burg-regional-vision-award
A-28
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
The Students in Free Enterprise Club is open to all students who are interested in exploring careers
in the business world. The club’s programs and activities include guest speaker series, seminars, and
company tours.
LCCC also provides the following electronic resources to aid student entrepreneurship:
•
Entrepreneur.com—features Information to Help Start, Grow, and Manage A Small
Business;
•
Entrepreneur Assist—Free Tools and Services for Your Business;
•
Inc.com—The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs; and
•
Fast Company—Where Ideas and People Meet.
In addition to programs and clubs, LCCC has several academic programs to quip students become
entrepreneurs or become highly skilled employees at innovative companies. These academic programs
include:
xlviii
in LCCC is the irst
•
Alternative Energy Technology—Wind Turbine program
associate’s degree credit program in wind power in Ohio.
•
Graduates enter the job market as wind turbine technicians trained to construct and
repair turbine units.
•
A one-year certiicate of proiciency program is also available, helping displaced workers
get retrained quickly and back into the workforce.
The Materials Joining Institute–Welding Technology program confers an associate’s degree, a
one-year technical certiicate, or a short-term certiicate in welding technology. This training prepares
graduates for the welding profession which projects a 250,000 deicit in skilled workers in the coming
years (American Welding Society).
Faculty Entrepreneurship
The Innovation Fund of the LCCC Foundation makes grants to technology business “start-ups” who in
return provide opportunities for students, faculty and staff to experience irsthand what it’s like to be an
xlix
entrepreneur .
As a direct beneit of this program, LCCC encourages faculty to incorporate entrepreneurism into course
curriculums, regardless of its topic or ield of study, because the whole notion of entrepreneurism is
critical in any work environment today.
Faculty may elect to structure entrepreneurship experiential learning opportunities for
students as a practicum or independent study.
•
Faculty should seek to give students projects that deliver a highly-focus work-based
learning goals combined with theoretical coursework.
Practicum or independent project may include:
•
Completing a marketing or business plan;
•
Performing research for an entrepreneurial employer; and
•
Developing a survey or performing market research.
University Technology Transfer Functions
LCCC does not have a traditional technology transfer ofice. However, LCCC is a major contributor to
coalitions that facilitate technology transfer, and in some cases creation of technological processes, that
positively impacts the region’s economy.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-29
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
In its partnership with NorTech—the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition—LCCC has taken a leading
role in fostering the development of new technology in Northeast Ohio. The coalition focuses on the
industries of advanced materials, power, information and communication technology, bioscience and
health care, and electronics. NorTech builds on the strengths of the region and propels new technologybased industries into the global economy.
University-Industry Collaboration
Advanced Manufacturing Careers—LCCC is one of four community colleges selected nationally to pilot
l
the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)-endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certiication System .
The NAM-endorsed Skills Certiication System focuses on the core, basic skills required for entrylevel workers in all sectors of manufacturing, from alternative energy and computers to aerospace
and life-saving pharmaceuticals. The skills certiications address personal effectiveness competencies,
foundational academic competencies, general workplace skills and manufacturing industry-wide
technical skills. Entry-level science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills are included in the
system.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a $1.5-million grant to the Manufacturing Institute (MI)
to comprehensively plan and implement post-secondary education programs that include the National
Association of Manufacturers (NAM)-endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certiication System.
li
Weld-Ed—the National Center for Welding Education and Training , headquartered in LCCC, through
its Weld-Ed program develops national curriculum and trains welding educators and technicians. From
repairing underwater structures to welding in outer space, Weld-Ed trains students for a value-added
welding career.
LCCC is a member of the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET), a regional collaboration
of manufacturers, educational institutions, economic organizations and chambers of commerce.
•
Partners work together to champion manufacturing technologies by assisting
manufacturers with all aspects of the industry.
•
MAGNET also advocates for manufacturers with local and regional regulatory agencies.
Regional and Local Economic Development
lii
The Innovation Alliance between LCCC and the University of Akron accelerates education eficiency,
knowledge creation, and economic development across all sectors vital to the success of the Northeast
Ohio region.
The Alternative Energy degree is collaborative between LCCC, Stark State Community College,
Lakeland Community College, and Cuyahoga Community College that leverages program sharing as a
way to save costs and offer diverse educational programs to more students.
The Innovation Fund is a regional fund that supports early stage entrepreneurial endeavors and
emerging technology based companies located throughout Northeast Ohio. It is administered through
a network of regional and state higher education, government and economic development partners.
The Fund is operated from within the LCCC Foundation and enhanced by the Great Lakes Innovation
and Development Enterprise (GLIDE). To date more than $3 million has been awarded to 44 companies
who have generated over $25 million of additional investment and revenue growth.
On February 22, 2011, the White House endorsed the launch of: Innovation Fund America, modeled
liii
after LCCC’s the Innovation Fund .
A-30
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of LCCC’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket, especially regional and local
economic impact?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
Lorain County Community College (LCCC) has earned a reputation as an innovation center due to
its various programs and national and regional recognitions. The president of the United States has
visited the campus and also instituted a national innovation program that draws inspiration from LCCC
Innovation Fund. LCCC has also built innovative alliances with other academic institutions, industry, and
industry associations.
Alliances with other universities allow students to earn 4-year degrees on LCCC campus. Industry
and industry association collaborations has deepened the quality of technical degree and certiicate
programs offered to LCCC students.
While LCCC is not a signatory to the NACIE commitment letter, it has been no less instructive to learn
about the impact of the NACIE commitment letter in framing LCCC’s strategic plans and institutional
culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks Lorain County Community College’s innovation
and entrepreneurship initiatives, and looks forward to a close and collaborative relationship in building
America’s innovation infrastructure.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-31
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan
Overview—Leadership & Advocacy
The University of Michigan and its president, Dr. Mary Sue Coleman, have played leadership and
advocacy roles in promoting innovation and research commercialization at the nation’s universities. The
university has prioritized innovation and entrepreneurship’s role in economic development prior to the
development of the NACIE commitment letter; for the last several years, major strategic priorities for the
University of Michigan include stimulating economic development and growth in Michigan and beyond
through innovation and entrepreneurship.
President Coleman’s decision to spearhead the NACIE commitment letter is a natural extension of the
innovation and commercialization culture at U-M. Even so, the NACIE Letter has had a “conscious raising”
effect on the innovative culture at U-M. Innovation and commercialization is a key focus of the activities
of the president, executive oficers, faculty, and staff at U-M. The outcome of this focus is relected in the
expanding array of programs, policies, relationships, and activities aimed at spurring innovation and
entrepreneurship on campus, in the region, and across the nation. As part of U-M’s strategy, many aspects
of this commitment are highlighted regularly in university outreach and communications, ranging from
speeches by senior executives to a central website accessible from the university’s home page.
U-M has also constituted a Communications Team to articulate a comprehensive strategy for these
various innovation and commercialization initiatives. The team includes the Vice President for Research,
the VP for Communications, the senior government relations oficer, and Mr. David Lampe, Executive
Director of Research Communications, in the Ofice of the Vice President for Research. Mr. Lampe is also
charged with coordinating all efforts related to innovation and entrepreneurship at U-M.
The “Innovate!” website is part of this broader strategy for a uniied outlet that captures various
innovative programs at the business, engineering, and law schools. Another unique outcome of U-M’s
innovation culture is that patents and licensing have become an explicit part of tenure and promotion
considerations.
President Coleman’s various engagements also underscore U-M’s strategy of promoting research
commercialization through collaborative public- and private-sector relationships. President Coleman
currently serves as chair of the Association of American Universities, and the Internet2 Board of
Trustees. President Obama selected her as one of six university presidents to help launch the Advanced
Manufacturing Partnership, a national effort bringing together industry, universities and the federal
government. And in 2010, President Coleman was named co-chair of the National Advisory Council on
Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
U-M faculty and staff are also engaged in university association initiatives, as part of a sustained effort to
better communicate the economic impact of universities. This includes Mr. David Lampe co-Chairmanship
of APLU’s Strategic Communications and Advancement Working Group.
Other collaborative U-M relationships include the Ann Arbor SPARK, a non-proit created to position the
Ann Arbor region as a prime destination for innovative businesses. Ann Arbor SPARK also accelerates
the development of startups, supports the growth of established businesses, and connects businesses
with relevant talent. Another collaborative relationship is with the Michigan Economic Development
Corporation (MEDC), a public-private partnership serving as the state’s marketing arm and lead agency for
business development and economic growth. Among other services, MEDC provides capital programs for
businesses, strategic partnerships, talent enhancement, as well as urban and community development.
The University Research Corridor (URC) is a partnership between U-M, Michigan State University, and
Wayne State University. The Research Corridor leverages the intellectual capital of member schools
to spark regional economic development. The URC achieves its mission through entrepreneurship,
innovation and technology transfer programs, educating a work force prepared for the knowledge
economy, and attracting smart and talented people to the state of Michigan.
A-32
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
In addition to partnerships and advocacy, U-M has also learnt a very informative lesson about requirements
for a successful commercialization program; a strong commitment by the university president and
leadership is invaluable. Especially as the president’s bully pulpit is a powerful tool that motivates,
informs, and excites the community into action. Successfully engaged communities are force multipliers.
Successful programs understand this and build on the institution’s character. These programs let a
thousand lowers bloom, rather than allow hierarchy to stile innovation. These programs set priorities,
and then hammer away at them repeatedly. These program characteristics position the school as a driver
of economic development.
Below is an enumeration of University of Michigan programs and initiatives that support the ive buckets
in the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
Through its tradition of action-based, interdisciplinary learning, the University of Michigan primes its
students to be tomorrow’s most innovative business leaders. Michigan graduates are entrepreneurs in
the truest sense and have fueled the formation of many industry-leading businesses from technology
startups to some of the world’s leading companies including Google, Domino’s Pizza, Sun Microsystems,
Stryker Corp., H&R Block, Borders, and Federal Express.
•
The U-M College of Engineering and the Ross School of Business has created a joint
Michigan Master of Entrepreneurship (MsE) degree. The MsE program, which will
admit its irst class in the fall of 2012, will educate students on forming and managing
high-growth potential, scalable businesses.
•
A minor in entrepreneurship, available to students from across the university, is also
under development.
At present, there is a wide range of non-degree programs across all curricula, including:
•
The Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, at the Ross School of Business,
engages undergraduate and graduate students in real world learning. Launched
in 1999, the Institute has granted over $2.3 million to student start-ups. In addition
to spearheading efforts to spread entrepreneurship across campus by introducing
multidisciplinary courses, hosting university-wide business-plan competitions and grant
programs, it has spawned entrepreneurship centers at the Law School, Medical School
and College of Engineering.
•
The Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), in the College of Engineering, offers
entrepreneurship-related undergraduate courses, a nine-credit Program in
Entrepreneurship (PIE) where both undergraduate and graduate students from U-M
may earn a certiicate of completion, and a 15-credit CASE in Entrepreneurship
(CASEE) where graduate students, as well as working professionals, are taught the
fundamental tools necessary for bringing innovative ideas to market. Since its inception
2,830 students have enrolled in CFE sponsored classes.
•
Zell Entrepreneurship and Law Program (ZEAL), at the U-M Law School, prepares law
students to advise and/or develop business enterprises and has established a clinic
providing much sought-after legal services for student entrepreneurs in university
programs.
•
Medical Innovation Center (MIC), in the U-M Medical School, assists faculty, alumni and
partners in taking ideas through the early development stage toward commercialization.
Established in 2008, the Center offers a fellowship program in biomedical innovation
and also operates a Design and Prototype Lab. The irst cohort of fellows launched a
medical device company before its fellowship year had ended.
•
The Center for Venture Capital & Private Equity Finance (CVP), at the Ross School of
Business, offers a specialized focus on entrepreneurial inance and investment through
research and program initiatives. Established in 1994, Center initiatives such as the
annual Michigan Growth Capital Symposium and Private Equity Conference effectively
connect the University’s entrepreneurial network to the broader inancial community.
These programs are administered through the Zell Lurie Institute.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-33
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Other student-focused activities include the following:
•
CFE and ZLI jointly manage the U-M TechArb Student Accelerator. With the aid of an
advisory board of community leaders and professional investors and additional funding
from the Ofice of the Vice President for Research, TechArb helps early stage companies
founded by U-M students reine and develop their ideas and business plans, and
eventually showcase teams to funders.
•
MPowered Entrepreneurship is a student group created and run by students to
expose their fellow students to entrepreneurship and support student ventures through
coordinated events and network. MPowered sponsors several high-proile activities to
encourage student involvement, notably the 1,000 Pitches campaign, a campus-wide
idea competition, the MPowered Career Fair, focused on growth companies, the Ann
Arbor Startup Weekend, to connect students with the local startup community, and eRes,
a living and learning entrepreneurial student community.
•
Tech Start program is an 8-12 week full time summer internship overseen by U-M Tech
Transfer for graduate students from many academic areas including Law, Engineering,
Medicine, Business and Information Technology, offers participants an intensive
experience working on entrepreneurial projects.
•
Entrepreneurial Multidisciplinary Action Projects (EMAP) offered by the Ross School
of Business/Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies immerses student teams in
domestic and international entrepreneurial businesses to execute assignments that may
include developing business plans, identifying new product opportunities or formulating
market entry strategies. EMAP projects are required of all irst year business graduate
students.
•
Three student-run Venture Funds—the $5.5 million early stage Wolverine Venture
Fund, the ive-year-old pre-seed Frankel Commercialization Fund, and the irst studentrun Social Venture Fund— a new initiative to support emerging businesses.
•
The Marcel Gani Internship program places students at start-up and venture capital irms.
•
The Dare to Dream grant program leads students through a six-month thoroughly
mentored process that enables them to explore an idea, establish feasibility and launch
a venture. Based at the Ross Business School, the program was expanded in 2007 to
non-business students under a partnership with the Center for Entrepreneurship in the
College of Engineering. Support ranges from $500 to $10,000. In 2010 almost $90,000
in total was awarded.
•
Michigan Business Challenge is a four-phase campus-wide business plan competition
that selects four inalists to compete for top prizes with over $60,000 awarded throughout
the cycle. The Ross Business School operates and funds the competition which attracted
73 teams in 2010. Ambiq Micro, the 2010 winner, has already attracted signiicant
venture capital.
•
Course projects provided by U-M Tech Transfer for classes such as Finance 629
(Financing Research Commercialization) at the Ross School of Business and the Master’s
in Entrepreneurship program, as well as investment analysis and consideration by the
Wolverine Venture Fund and the Frankel Commercialization Fund managed by the Zell
Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
•
Entrepreneurial and legal mentoring services provided by U-M Tech Transfer to
student projects within the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Zell Lurie Institute for
Entrepreneurial Studies and other entrepreneurial units across campus.
•
Tech Transfer Fellows program through which graduate students under the supervision
of Tech Transfer professionals provide written initial assessments of the commercial
aspects of newly reported inventions.
•
The Entrepreneur and Venture Club (EVC) at the Ross School of Business brings
together students dedicated to furthering their education and professional goals as
prospective entrepreneurs and investors in new ventures. The EVC provides events,
networking opportunities, and educational programs to provide students with the skills
and contacts to advance their ambitions.
A-34
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
•
SI Create is a student organization fostering a community of innovation and
entrepreneurship at the U-M School of Information. The club sponsors ield trips that
expose students to innovation and hosts a Business Model Competition.
•
The China Entrepreneur Network (CEN) is aimed at building a global hub for Chinese
Entrepreneurs. The U-M is host to both a campus-wide club and a business school
student club. CEN also organizes a yearly conference with worldwide participants.
•
The Society for Business Engineers, at the College of Engineering, supports students
in the Engineering school with an interest in applying to programs in other areas of study
as well as obtaining an entrepreneurship certiicate
•
Entrepalooza is an annual conference that introduces students to successful
entrepreneurs through presentations and a “lunch and learn” where they can meet oneon-one with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors.
•
TedXUofM is a student group that sets up an annual innovation conference with a 2000+
audience and large web-presence.
•
Student Trips to high proile companies allowing them to network with entrepreneurs,
venture capitalists and U-M alumni entrepreneurs are organized by the Center for
Entrepreneurship to the San Francisco Bay area, New York and Chicago.
•
Entrepreneurship Hour invites distinguished innovators to campus every week to share
their stories. The speaker series is a class taught through the Center for Entrepreneurship
and is open to the public. The talks are also recorded and made available online.
Tech Fest is an annual program launched in 2011 that welcomes entrepreneurs, venture capitalists,
angel investors, scientists and business leaders from around the world to campus for demonstrations of
labs and student projects, networking and brainstorming.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
The University of Michigan has several incentives to encourage faculty to pursue innovative and
entrepreneurial ideas and to mentor graduate students to do so. It also helps to nurture the success of
companies based on technology developed at U-M. These incentives include:
•
The Provost has encouraged recognition of innovation and entrepreneurship in
faculty tenure and promotion cases. He speciically cites working with U-M Tech Transfer
to patent or license and invention; launching a start-up company; and encouraging or
instructing students in entrepreneurial activities.
•
The U-M Venture Center within U-M Tech Transfer provides a one-stop hub for faculty
entrepreneurs as well as investors looking for start-up opportunities based on U-M
research.
•
The Venture Accelerator provides state-of-the-art laboratories, equipment, and ofices
for emerging U-M companies from the pipeline of U-M start-ups, as part of a full suite of
services and resources from the U-M Venture Center.
•
Under the Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups Program, U-M invests
up to $1 million of university funds in start-ups based on U-M technology, after they have
secured initial funding from a qualiied venture capital irm.
•
The U-M Distinguished University Innovator Award recognizes the faculty’s important
and lasting contributions to the economy by moving new innovations into the private
sector for public beneit, and by demonstrating entrepreneurial success.
•
The U-M Tech Transfer Ted Doan Award for Outstanding Leadership in
Entrepreneurship and Innovation is awarded to a deserving individual who has
demonstrated a distinguished record of encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation
for the state of Michigan.
•
The U-M Tech Transfer annual inventor recognition reception, Celebrate Invention,
honors faculty who participate in tech transfer activities amidst a celebration with over
300 business, venture, university and community partners.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-35
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
U-M also invests in infrastructure to support innovation and entrepreneurship. The North Campus
Research Complex, a two million square foot array of ofice and laboratory space, was acquired in
2009. Formerly a Pizer R&D center contiguous with the campus, the complex houses a variety of the
university’s innovation and entrepreneurship activities, including:
•
Space for interdisciplinary teams of U-M faculty to come together to conduct translational
research in such areas as health policy, biointerfaces, cardiovascular research, and
translational oncology
•
U-M Tech Transfer, the Venture Center, and the Venture Accelerator;
•
The Business Engagement Center, which develops and manages relationships with
industry partners; and
•
Facilities for U-M research partners, including biopharmaceutical spinoff Lycera Corp.
and Boropharm, a chemical development and manufacturing business
University Technology Transfer Functions
The Ofice of Technology Transfer (OTT) at U-M oversees the commercialization of new technologies
and research discoveries, and provides professional resources for inventors, entrepreneurs and industry
partners. It is the university’s conduit between laboratory research and corporate commercialization
liv
interests .
U -M Tech Transfer utilizes several resources to connect entrepreneurs and other members of the business
lv
and venture communities to opportunities at U-M. These include :
•
A highly proicient team of Licensing Specialists provide inventors and business
partners with responsive technology assessment, patenting services, market analysis
and contracting services;
•
Tech Transfer Fellows employs mentored graduate and post-doc students to assist U-M
Tech Transfer licensing specialists in providing comprehensive technology assessments;
•
Catalyst, a talent resource network that connects entrepreneurs and other parties with
U-M’s technology and venture opportunities;
•
The Venture Center employs a team of experienced entrepreneurs in its Mentors-inResidence program to assist in connecting technology and start-up projects to other
entrepreneurs, businesses and venture partners;
•
The Center also leverages relationships with over 250 premier venture capital irms and
angel groups to assist entrepreneurs engaged with U-M opportunities; and
•
U-M Tech Transfer and the Ofice of Research and Sponsored Programs lower
the barriers to industry investment in university research by offering sponsors the
opportunity to negotiate the terms for licensing possible intellectual property during
the initial contracting process.
These and various other initiatives have helped accelerate the launching of several ventures, placing
U-M among the top 10 universities in the nation in spin-off activity and technology licensing.
•
93 start-up ventures from 2001 to 2010, many of which have had notable market success
such as HealthMedia, HandyLab, Arbor Networks and Accuri Cytometers.
•
Creation of 814 agreements from 2001 to 2010, connecting U-M technology with
entrepreneurs in new and existing companies.
•
With 101 licensing agreements and the spin-off of 11 startups in 2011, U-M consistently
ranks in the top 10 U.S. universities in tech transfer performance.
A-36
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Some other University activities assisting U-M Tech Transfer include:
•
“Gap” funds from the proceeds of U-M Tech Transfer central administration revenues,
matched by State-funded programs, are used to address key commercialization issues.
These gap funds are deployed in concert with “translational research” investments from
the College of Engineering (CoE), the CoE Coulter process, Ofice of the Vice President
for Research funds and a planned Medical School fund.
•
The Michigan Growth Capital Symposium is a venture capital event that connects high
potential Midwest start-ups and university spin-outs with leading investors nationwide.
Ten year statistics include: 300 companies presented; 200 raised capital totaling more
than $1.7 billion; 60 exited successfully.
•
College of Engineering Technology Development Fund offers awards of up to $50,000
to later-stage research activities related to translational research proof of concept
•
Coulter Foundation Translational Research Fund provides translational funding to 4-8
new biomedical engineering projects a year at up to $100,000 per project
•
The Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) Pilot Grant Program
awards $50,000 to $250,000 for bench to bedside and bedside to practice translational
research.
University-Industry Collaboration
lvi
The Business Engagement Center (BEC), afiliated with the Ofice of the Vice President for Research
and the Ofice of University Development, provides companies with a one-stop gateway to the various
research, technology, education, facilities, and talent resources at U-M. The BEC maintains afiliated ofices
in the College of Engineering, the Medical School, and at the Dearborn and Flint campuses. Founded in
2007, the BEC now maintains relationships with more than 1,000 companies, and is contacted by nearly
200 new companies each year.
The BEC-facilitated relationships can range from individual research projects to broader engagements,
depending on the business need. For example, aerospace giant Boeing maintains a long-standing
partnership with U-M focused on building a pipeline for the future. Boeing recruits from seven different
U-M programs, provides support for 50 students, regularly sponsors student projects, and conducts
research with four different departments.
One of the functions of the BEC is to work with schools and departments to encourage industry
sponsorship of research at U-M. Total sponsorship reached $61.6 million in FY 2011.
Some research initiatives are emerging that speciically aim to spur innovation and economic development
in partnership with industry and government. The Michigan Sustainable Transportation Imperative is
an emerging initiative that aims to bring U-M’s interdisciplinary strengths together with representatives
from the transportation and related industries as well as state and federal government agencies to
strengthen the state’s leadership in the next generation of transportation vehicles and systems.
U-M also maintains close relationships with its 450,000 member alumni network and engages a number
of U-M alumni in businesses, venture irms and other organizations around the world. Some examples
include:
•
Larry Page, co-founder and CEO of search engine giant Google, earned a B.S. degree
in engineering with a concentration in computer science from U-M in 1995. Google
AdWords has an ofice in Ann Arbor
•
Eric Lefkosfsky and Brad Keywell, founders and founding investors in Groupon. Both
earned undergraduate degrees in 1991 and Law School degrees in 1993 from U-M.
Lefkofsky founded a business while still a U-M undergrad
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-37
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
•
Thomas Bumol, VP Biotechnology and Autoimmunity Research for Eli Lilly in San Diego,
CA, earned a B.S. degree in microbiology from U-M in 1975. Tom sits on the U-M Tech
Transfer National Advisory Board;
•
Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, earned a bachelor’s degree in computer
engineering in 1975. He currently is a partner in the venture irm Kleiner Perkins
Cauield & Byer’s Green Tech Practice;
•
Tony Fadell, a key initiator of the iPhone and the iPad products at Apple, started
three companies before graduating from U-M with a bachelor’s degree in computer
engineering in 1991; and
•
John Denniston is a partner in Kleiner Perkins Cauield & Byers, a leading venture capital
irm. John has a B.A in Economics and a J.D. from U-M and also serves on the U-M Tech
Transfer National Advisory Board.
Regional and Local Economic Development
U-M and its senior management team provide “thought leadership” on America’s economic development
policy. Examples include:
•
President Mary Sue Coleman was appointed a founding co-chair of the National
Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, created by the U.S. Department
of Commerce in 2010 to support President Obama’s innovation strategy by helping to
develop policies that foster entrepreneurship and technology transfer;
•
Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest chaired Ann Arbor SPARK, the Ann
Arbor region’s economic development organization from 2009 to 2012; and
•
As an institution, U-M was selected as one of six universities to collaborate in a new
national Advanced Manufacturing Initiative recommended by President Obama’s
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
The University Research Corridor (URC) is a consortium among U-M, Michigan State University, and
Wayne State University. This effort was undertaken to highlight the capabilities and impact of the
state’s three leading research institutions and drive the transformation of Michigan’s economy. Among
its activities, the URC produces an annual economic impact report that includes an assessment of the
impact of the three universities on a different industry sector each year. Some impact igures:
•
The URC economic impact on Michigan increased from $12.9 billion in 2006 to $15.2
billion in 2010;
•
URC spends more than $1.8 billion in research, and educates 137,583 students;
•
More than 573,000 URC alumni live in Michigan, earning $28.6 billion in 2010, which is
16.4 percent of all wage and salary income in the state;
•
The URC generated $426 million in 2010 state tax revenue even as state support for
higher education has declined; and
•
The URC averages 135 patents per year (140 in 2010) and has spun off an average of 14
companies per year since 2006.
U-M has also provided leadership on three innovative partnerships with other Michigan universities,
funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation:
•
A-38
The Michigan Corporate Relations Network (MCRN) is a statewide university network
designed to create partnerships that will connect Michigan’s corporations to critical
university assets to help promote innovative research and grow Michigan’s economy. Six
major public universities in Michigan make up the network.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
•
The Tech Transfer Talent Network is a collaborative network among 7 universities led
by the University of Michigan to establish regional talent tools, programs and resources
to enhance university tech transfer performance. Modeled after several U-M tools and
programs, the Talent Network provides funds for regional and shared resources to
enhance the commercialization of university research.
•
The Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIIE) and the Michigan
Universities Commercialization Initiative (MUCI) are statewide collaborations among
public universities to promote regional economic development and entrepreneurship.
U-M’s Institute for Labor, Employment, and the Economy has programs aimed at assessing,
understanding and encouraging economic development. They include:
•
The Center for Business Acceleration and Incubation Studies, which carries out
market feasibility studies for proposed new business incubators in the region to help lay
the foundation for success.
•
The Technology Commercialization and Assistance program proactively identiies the
capabilities and initiatives of emerging or established companies and matches them
with technology available at Michigan universities.
•
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, an international business plan
competition initiated in 2010 highlights Michigan as a venue for innovation and opportunity.
The competition,one of the largest of its kind,is sponsored by a network of groups in Michigan
committed to bolstering innovation and entrepreneurship in the state. U-M co-sponsors
the event through the University Research Corridor. Four U-M ventures have won prizes.
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of U-M’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
lvii
Conclusion
Across U-M, more than 1,500 students participated in the more than 100 courses offered at U-M
related to entrepreneurship. More than 5,000 students participated in entrepreneurship activities in
2010-11, in classes, competitions, public events and more. One survey showed more than 15 percent of
incoming freshmen had started a business before enrolling.
In addition to investments in human capital, U-M also continues to invest in infrastructure. The North
Campus Research Complex, a two million square foot array of ofice and laboratory space, was acquired
in 2009. The complex, formerly a Pizer R&D center, houses the Venture Accelerator and serves as a locus
for many of the university’s economic development efforts.
Beyond investments in human capital and infrastructure, U-M also continues to align its bureaucratic
structure to fully leverage regional endowments. The Business Engagement Center, the Medical
School Business Development team and the College of Engineering’s Corporate Relations ofice now
collectively serve as the front door to businesses seeking to identify and access U-M resources. Together,
these ofices manage more than 1,000 active relationships with companies ranging from entrepreneurial
start-ups to Fortune 500 enterprises. Separately, the U-M Medical School Business Development team
connects faculty with external collaborators and helps both navigate the most eficient path to accelerate
research from “bench.”
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-39
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Lastly, Mr. David Lampe’s comments have been instructive in better understanding U-M’s leadership
role in promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of research in the nation’s
universities. As well as the impact of the NACIE commitment letter in framing University of Michigan’s
strategic plans and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks U-M’s assistance with this case study, and looks
forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation infrastructure.
A-40
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
7
Overview – University of the People
The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill is an original member of “The Triangle,” a group
of three universities—North Carolina State University, Duke University, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill—whose research facilities and the educated workforce they provide have historically served
as a major attraction for businesses located in and around the region, which came to be known in the
1950s as the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina.
Currently, the entrepreneurship program at UNC, Chapel Hill was driven by former Chancellor Holden
Thorp, an academician, NACIE member, former entrepreneur and venture capitalist, who has co-written
lvii
a book, Engines of Innovation, about innovation on university campuses . Even so, the UNC Chapel Hill
community believes that what sets their school apart from others is that “it is, as it was meant to be, the
lix
University of the people. ”
The “University of the People” ethos also extends to the current structure of the entrepreneurship
programs at UNC, Chapel Hill. Entrepreneurship has moved from the exclusive domains of the business
and engineering schools to the people, as the university moves to institutionalize a campus-wide culture
of entrepreneurship.
Along with the students, the faculty is also encouraged to think entrepreneurially. An invitation only
faculty boot camp sponsored by the Chancellor affords 20 faculty members (at a time) the opportunity
to develop their business ideas. Support services include assistance with business plans and workshops.
Students are also given opportunities to translate their entrepreneurial plans into viable commercial
ventures.
lxi
The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Kenan-Flagler Business School is UNC Chapel Hill’s
lagship entrepreneurial program. The Center offers staff, faculty, and especially students the resources
to identify and evaluate valuable entrepreneurial opportunities.
lix
The Ofice of Technology Development (OTD) is UNC, Chapel Hill’s technology transfer ofice. OTD
advances UNC, Chapel Hill’s mission to encourage innovation and disseminate knowledge. Principally,
the OTD serves the UNC Chapel Hill community and the public by licensing innovations developed by
faculty, students and staff.
In addition to encouraging university wide entrepreneurial culture, UNC, Chapel Hill believes there is
still a strong role for the government in promoting innovation and commercialization at the nation’s
universities. This role includes increasing funding for proof-of-concept centers, instituting further patent
reform, and revising immigration law to make it easier for American companies to hire bright American
university trained immigrant students.
UNC, Chapel Hill also welcome and value OIE’s deep dives on university innovation and commercialization.
And to realize its commitment to the ive buckets in the NACIE sponsored university innovation and
commercialization letter, UNC, Chapel Hill has adopted the following strategies:
Student Entrepreneurship
With over 20 MBA electives, the entrepreneurship curriculum at Kenan-Flagler covers a broad
spectrum, including specialty topics such as family business, entrepreneurship through acquisition, and
social entrepreneurship.
7
Comments by Judith Cone, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-41
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
In addition, the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies boasts a wide range of programs, conferences and
competitions which deeply enrich the entrepreneurial experience of, and allow students to engage their
entrepreneurial interests through a variety of perspectives. These include:
Programs, Conferences, & Competitions
lxii
Startups
•
Launching the Venture is a series of courses that help faculty, staff and students from
across the UNC campus turn new ideas into viable ventures
– The mission of the program is to equip aspiring UNC entrepreneurs with the tools to
successfully launch their venture;
– MBA students may explore ventures of their own or join teams as “free agents”;
– The Launch curriculum comprises four distinct phases: Opportunity, Feasibility,
Business Planning and Financing; and
– Launch teams undergo weekly coaching sessions in which they receive invaluable
feedback from successful entrepreneurs and domain leaders.
Outcomes
– Since its inception in 1999, Launch has aided in the creation of 50 startups.
•
The Carolina Challenge is an annual startup competition open to all UNC students,
staff, faculty, and alumni
– Entrants compete in one of four tracks: traditional, social, high tech and scientiic
– Entrants undergo several rounds of competition, including an elevator pitch round
– Activities surrounding the Carolina Challenge span the academic year, including a
campus-wide idea competition in the fall
Outcomes
– The Carolina Challenge awards $50K in prize money each year.
•
The Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) gives MBA student teams the
unique opportunity to learn about venture funding by acting as venture capitalists and
evaluating the viability of ive real startup ventures.
– VCIC’s 40 events have become a network of mini-venture fairs in which MBAs and
Venture Capitalists (VC) get an early peek at viable startups.
Outcomes
– VCIC competition now attracts 1,200 students, 150 venture capitalists and 100
entrepreneurs each year from three different continents; and
– ¼ of aspiring entrepreneurs in VCIC mini-venture fairs go on to raise venture
funding.
•
Student-Run Private Equity Fund: The Kenan-Flagler Private Equity Fund which
launched in 2007 is the irst and only student-run fund associated with a top-tier global
business school that seeks to provide real returns to its limited partners
•
Kenan-Flagler also boasts two student-run real estate funds and a fund dedicated to
investing in publically-traded companies
– The private equity fund management team comprises nine Kenan-Flagler students,
ive second-year MBAs and four BSBAs
– All students serve a three-semester term with the program
– In addition to active investment activities, students participate in a series of private
equity courses, lectures and events
A-42
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
– Students manage all aspects of the investment cycle: raising capital, sourcing deals,
performing due diligence, making investment decisions and presenting decisions to
the Board of Directors.
Outcomes
– The Kenan-Flagler student run Private Equity Fund now has more than $4.4 million of
committed capital under management; and
– Z Capital Partners and James J. Zenni awarded a $100,000 grant to the Kenan-Flagler
Business School to support private equity (PE) education for MBA and undergraduate
lxiii
business students .
Faculty Entrepreneurship
Former Chancellor Thorp’s co-author, Buck Goldstein is the University Entrepreneur in Residence and
Professor of the Practice in the Department of Economics. Mr. Goldstein is the co-founder of Information
America, an online information and database business, which evolved over a 15-year period, from
start-up through venture inancing to public company. Information America was eventually acquired
by the Thomson Corporation. Mr. Goldstein subsequently became a partner in Mellon Ventures, the
venture capital arm of Mellon Bank, where he served on the Board of numerous early stage information
lxiii
companies .
In addition to Mr. Goldstein, many practicing entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, venture lawyers and
others who have the most current and relevant knowledge on speciic entrepreneurial topics also teach
lxiv
entrepreneurship courses .
Faculty members are encouraged to and recognized for exemplary faculty scholarship. Faculty
recognition initiatives include:
•
The C. Felix Harvey Award is given to the UNC faculty member or members whose
proposed outreach project best relects applied innovation of scholarly expertise in
the humanities and social sciences. It seeks to support faculty who want to move their
research indings from the campus to directly serve communities.
•
Launch the Venture is an interactive 6-month course designed to assist faculty
entrepreneurs in evaluating the feasibility of their potential company, designing a
business strategy and creating a business plan. The course is free to UNC-afiliated
faculty, staff and students. It is offered by the Ofice of Technology Development (OTD)
in partnership with the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
lxv
lxvi
University Technology Transfer Functions
OTD typically handles approximately 125 novel technologies yearly, generating over 50 patent ilings,
30 license agreements and 3-5 startup companies.
•
OTD’s services include evaluating, patenting, licensing and assisting faculty in obtaining
research support from corporate sponsors.
•
OTD serves to fulill UNC Chapel Hill’s mission to advance knowledge, enhance
education, and solve societal problems, and enrich the quality of life in the State of North
Carolina by:
– Facilitating the translation of new discoveries into useful products
– Attracting industry research collaboration; and
– Stimulating local and regional economic development.
•
OTD’s professional project managers have considerable expertise in science, business
development, and intellectual property law. OTD provides the following services when
UNC-Chapel Hill faculty, staff, and students report their innovations:
– Evaluate the innovation for commercial potential;
– Take steps to obtain appropriate protection for the intellectual property
represented by the innovation;
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-43
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
– Identify strong prospects for commercial partnership; and
– Negotiate appropriate licensing agreement(s).
•
OTD’s licensing activities also includes copyright works and trademarks, a variety of
programs to license and disseminate software, multimedia and tangible research
property for both research and commercial applications
•
OTD also develops, reviews and negotiates Material Transfer Agreements to facilitate
the movement of research materials to and from the University
OTD Internship and Fellowships
•
The OTD internship program is an eight month position for graduate students and/or
post-doctoral fellows who wish to learn more about intellectual property and technology
commercialization
– The internship runs during the academic year, from August to May, and requires a
commitment of approximately 8-12 hours per week.
– Interns will participate in a formal training series covering the basics of technology
transfer, conduct market assessments and direct marketing efforts for select
technologies, and gain exposure to ongoing negotiations between OTD and
industry partners.
•
OTD Training Series include a monthly series of internal training sessions for interns,
new OTD employees and visiting technology transfer professionals.
•
OTD Market Analyses is a critical initiative that includes performing market assessments
of promising UNC technology.
•
Gillings Innovation Labs focuses on solving signiicant public health challenges with
fundamental breakthroughs in public health, through competitively funded research
programs.
– The Gillings School of Global Public Health established a $50 million fund with a
gift from Dennis and Joan Gillings to anticipate emerging public health challenges,
accelerate solutions, and improve people’s lives across the state and the world.
University-Industry Collaboration
UNC Chapel Hill maintains several collaborative relationships with industry groups to enhance industry
access to their research expertise, intellectual property, and commercial opportunities. These include:
lxvii
•
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)
members have a shared
mission to identify, enable and promote high-growth, high-impact companies and to
accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. CED
members are a community of people inspired by entrepreneurship. They include startup
companies, more mature growth-stage irms, investors, service partners, academics, and
individuals.
•
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
provides long-term economic and societal
beneits through support of biotechnology research, business, education and strategic
policy by:
lxviii
– Serving as the statewide hub of life-science commercialization;
– Bootstrapping companies and new business sectors with loans and other support;
– Funding key faculty recruitment and commercially promising research;
– Linking academic, business, civic and policy leaders;
– Supporting workforce development activities; and
– Providing curriculum development and workshops for educators.
A-44
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
lxix
•
North Carolina Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC)
is
a program of The University of North Carolina System, in partnership with the U.S.
Small Business Administration, which provides resources for growing and developing
businesses. These resources include: Training & Education for Business Startups; Direct
Service to Economic Development Organizations, Government Agencies, and University
Departments; and Leverage University Resources Statewide.
•
North Carolina Innovative Development for Economic Advancement (NC I.D.E.A)
provides small grants to high-tech startup companies to support business activities that
validate potential markets, reduce risk of early failure, and advance projects to the point
of self-sustainability at which time they are suitable for private equity investment.
lxx
Internships and Fellowships programs are another collaborative vehicle between UNC,
Chapel Hill and industry. These programs include:
•
The Carolina Entrepreneurial Fellows Program (CEF) is a collaborative effort between
the Center and the MBA Entrepreneurship Club which matches entrepreneurial students
with local startups
– Typically students work two days a week with one startup (perhaps their own), two days
at another startup and each Friday on group projects.
– This 2/2/1 format gives students a broad entrepreneurial experience and exposure to
the local startup community.
– Internships are funded by clients, the MBA Entrepreneurship Club and the North
Carolina Small Business Technology and Development Center.
•
The Carolina Venture Fellows Program (CVF) is inspired in part by the Kauffman Fellows
Program. CVF is a highly competitive program that places select students in a structured
twelve-month apprenticeship with a venture capital irm
– The venture fellow works part-time during the school year and full-time
during the summer.
– Over twelve months, the venture fellow is involved in all facets of a venture irm:
sourcing deals, structuring investments, assisting portfolio companies and
fundraising
Outcomes
– Venture irms that have participated in CVF include: Intersouth Partners, IDEA Fund
Partners, Southern Capitol Ventures,A.M. Pappas & Associates, SJF Ventures, Hatteras
Venture Partners, Parish Capital, Golden Pine Ventures, Dogwood Equity, The Aurora
Funds and Carrboro Capital
•
The Alternative Investments Fellows Program (AIF) connects MBAs with rare summer
internship opportunities at private equity and hedge funds
– These internships allow students to be involved in all facets of the irm’s investment
process,including: sourcing deals,due diligence,valuing and structuring investments,
and assisting portfolio companies
– Proceeds from the Alternative Investments Conference help fund the fellowships.
Outcomes
– Participating irms include: Brown Brothers Harriman, North State Capital Investors,
Bank of America Global Strategic Capital, The Halifax Group, Jacobs Capital,
and Google.
Regional and Local Economic Development
UNC Chapel Hill participates in several economic development initiatives that impact the regional
economy. These include:
lxxi
Innovate@Carolina: Important Ideas for a Better World has raised more than $11 million for a new
$125 million fundraising campaign developed by UNC alumni and friends experienced in leading
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-45
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
innovation in science, business, medicine, nonproits and academia to bring the power of innovation
and entrepreneurship to bear on the world’s biggest problems.
Outcomes
•
UNC’s membership in a consortium created by a $3.6 million gift from the Blackstone
Charitable Foundation .
•
The consortium will help the Research Triangle develop a network of entrepreneurial
assistance similar to those in Silicon Valley and the Boston Corridor.
•
Partners include Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central
University, and the Center for Entrepreneurial Development.
Impact (anticipated)
•
The network has the potential over a decade to create jobs, attract seed, startup and
expansion capital, and generate revenue
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of UNC Chapel Hill’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your entrepreneurship and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
UNC Chapel Hill appears to have on-going initiatives in all areas of its commitment to initiate and expand
technology commercialization processes, encourage entrepreneurship, and institute policies and
programs that support regional economic development. However, there does not appear to be a formal
collaborative relationship between the various initiatives in OTD and the Center for Entrepreneurial
studies.
Even so, a central challenge for UNC Chapel Hill would be how to better leverage its geographic
and human capital endowments. The region’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) offers robust high-tech
research and development centers that serve as incubators for new ideas, as well as opportunities for
entrepreneurial faculty and students to gain invaluable practical experience. UNC Chapel Hill should
also continue to better cultivate and leverage the inancial and professional support of successful alumni,
entrepreneurs, and investors to provide a sustainable source of funding for innovative commercialization
and entrepreneurship programs, as well as guidance to help it reach the market place.
Lastly, Ms. Judith Cone’s comments will be instructive in better understanding UNC Chapel Hill’s various
innovative entrepreneurship, research, and technology transfer programs. As well as the impact of the
NACIE commitment letter in framing UNC, Chapel Hill’s strategic plans and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks UNC, Chapel Hill’s assistance with this case study,
and looks forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation
infrastructure.
A-46
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
The Prairie View A&M University
Overview – Developing the Culture
8
Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas, and is
a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU enrolls about 6,324 undergraduate students and
1,758 graduate students who come from all 50 U.S. states and several countries throughout the world.
About 56% of the students are female, and 44% are male.
Dr. George C. Wright is the seventh President of Prairie View A&M University, the second oldest public
institution of higher education in Texas. Under Dr. Wright’s leadership, PVAMU continues to fulill its
land-grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and service.
In 2011 PVAMU began a 3 to 5-year drive to improve innovation and research outputs in the university.
There is now also an increasing recognition throughout the university community that the ive buckets
contained in the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter provides a blueprint to building
successful entrepreneurship, innovation, and commercializing programs and culture.
An innate entrepreneurial culture among PVAMU students has also been a major catalyst for innovation
programs. The university’s strong engineering, science, technology, and nursing school have also been
helpful.
Even so, PVAMU believes that an injection of “seed funding” access to U.S. government grants will
encourage faculty to their research rate, and commercialization effort.
Below is an enumeration of Prairie View A&M University programs and initiatives that support the ive
buckets in the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
lxxii
Student In Free Enterprise - SIFE : the Free Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. has partnered
with PVAMU students, since 1976, in several activities that promote free enterprise. The SIFE Team’s
programs inform and educate on the importance and beneits of the free enterprise system. These
programs include the P-4 Investment Club, and sponsorships include the Personal Finance and Fiscal
Fitness, Business Ethics, Student Entrepreneur and Business Expo, Entertainment Business Career Fair,
Music Business Seminars, and the Changing the World Talent Showcase.
Framework for Opportunity Convergence and the Utilization of Sustainable Solutions (FOCUSS)
lxxiii
Idea Competition
provides students a unique opportunity to share and cultivate creative solutions
for sponsoring corporations. All current Prairie View A&M students are eligible to participate. Johnson
Controls is a major corporate sponsor of the competition.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
There does not yet appear to be a formal arrangement to engage PVAMU faculty in entrepreneurship
or commercialization of research initiatives. However, a number of PVAMU engagements appear to
suggest an effort to engage both faculty and students in research and commercialization initiatives.
These include:
lxxiv
The Center for Radiation Engineering and Science for Space Exploration (CRESSE) , a
NASA University Research Center (URC) at PVAMU, uses its core intellectual, academic and physical
infrastructure to thoroughly investigate the scientiic and engineering challenges of space radiation.
A better understanding and mitigation of radiation will help realize America’s goal to someday safely
return scientists, engineers and explorers to space destinations including Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs),
Mars, and beyond.
8
Comments by: Dr. Rick Baldwin, Advisor, SIEF Program.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-47
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
•
The prime objective of CRESSE is to merge new materials and technology into innovative
radiation shielding systems.
•
These shielding systems will keep critical electronic and scientiic instruments and
astronauts safe from harmful radiation, during future robotic and human missions into
deep space.
Research Focus: Through September 2013, CRESSE research will focus on reliability issues during future
NASA lunar and Martian missions. Speciic areas of focus will include the dependability of space light
instrumentation and the health and safety of astronauts.
lxv
The 2010 RAMP Conference —Research Association of Minority Professors— hosted by PVAMU sought
to identify the University’s role in enhancing faculty research in education, engineering, health and
technology. The conference suggested several incentives to improve faculty research. These include:
•
Granting faculty additional release time from teaching
– Typical faculty teaching load is 12 semester;
– Grant may provide 25% released time; and
– University will grant a limited number of faculty an additional 25% release time for
one semester or $3,000 to $6,000 to support faculty development.
University Technology Transfer Functions
PVAMU technology transfer functions are handled through its parent institution: the Texas A&M
lxxvi
University System Ofice of Technology Commercialization (OTC) . In iscal year 2010 OTC
achieved the following milestones:
•
Licensing revenue generated by the Ofice of Technology Commercialization
exceeded $8.5 million;
•
The A&M System iled 65 new U.S. and foreign patent applications;
•
30 U.S. patents were issued based on A&M System technologies;
•
A&M System entered into 46 new license agreements for the development of
technologies; and
•
On average, OTC staff processed 4 new disclosures per week
University-Industry Collaboration
lxxvii
Since 2004, the Prairie View A&M University Small Business Development Center
(PVAMU SBDC)
has provided free consulting and assistance to businesses in Waller and Grimes counties. Services are
extended to both start-ups and businesses seeking to scale-up. PVAMU SBDC professional consultants
have extensive experience working with businesses in a wide variety of industries and bring practical
knowledge and business expertise, from marketing to inancial strategy.
Regional and Local Economic Development
lxxviii
Communi-Versity Economic Development Initiative
is a irst-of-its kind economic development
strategy for the City of Prairie View, which is home to Prairie View A&M University. Communi-Versity
Advisory Council is comprised of leaders from the Prairie View community, PVAMU, and the private
sector.
The Advisory Council works collaboratively with local city oficials and economic development
professionals to create jobs and attract additional business and investments that beneit both the
university and the local community.
A-48
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of PVAMU’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
The Center for Radiation Engineering and Science for Space Exploration (CRESSE) at the Prairie View
A&M University is an example of the promise that the University’s engineering pedigree holds in its
quest to enhance student and faculty innovation and entrepreneurship. PVAMU’s afiliation with the
Texas A&M University System should also provide resources as well as give credibility to innovation and
entrepreneurship initiatives.
Comments by Dr. Rick Baldwin have been instructive in better understanding Prairie View A&M University’s
quest for expanded innovative entrepreneurship, research, and technology transfer programs. It has
framed the impact of the NACIE commitment letter by way of PVAMU’s strategic plans and institutional
culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks Prairie View A&M University’s assistance with this
case study, and looks forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s
innovation infrastructure.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-49
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
The William Marsh Rice University (Rice), Houston, Texas
9
Overview—Commercializing Innovative Business Plans
William Marsh Rice University - commonly referred to as Rice University or just Rice - is a private research
university located in Houston, Texas. Since its establishment in 1912, Rice has grown into a highly
regarded research university with an expanding entrepreneurship program.
Rice is noted for applied science programs in the ields of artiicial heart research, structural chemical
analysis, signal processing, space science, and nanotechnology. It was ranked irst in the world in
lxix
materials science research by the Times Higher Education (THE) in 2010 . Under the leadership of
President David W. Leebron, Rice has maintained a very high level of research activity for its size, with
lxxx
$115.3 million
in sponsored research funding in 2011.
Activities that support commercialization of research have also become a hallmark of Rice University.
By the late 1990s, it became clear to a Rice University business professor that entrepreneurship and
research programs at Stanford University and MIT were economic development catalysts in the Silicon
Valley and greater Boston regions, respectively. Consequently, Rice decided that it had a duty and
academic pedigree to replicate the human capital and economic development successes in the Houston,
Texas region. With seed funding by former Rice president, Dr. S. Malcolm Gillis, their entrepreneurship
program, known as the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship that brings together the
George R. Brown School of Engineering, the Wiess School of natural sciences and the Jesse H. Jones
Graduate School of Business in a strategic collaboration, opened in 2000.
Rice University maintains a “distributive” culture, which relects the need to work across different arenas
of campus, while consciously avoiding duplication. It also encourages bottom-up thinking and strategies.
However, most innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization of research results, transition
through the Rice Alliance. This includes the just concluded 2012 Rice Business Plan Competition. The
competition attracted 131 sponsors, 207 judges, and 42 graduate student teams who competed for
$1.5million in prize money. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Prize was one of the sponsors.
11 different schools have won the competition’s grand prize in the last 12 years. In this way, the NACIE
commitment letter is consistent with Rice University’s culture of innovative approach to entrepreneurship
and commercialization of research.
Brad Burke is the Executive Director of the Rice Alliance, and he reports to four different people—the heads
of engineering, bio sciences, business school, and the vice president for research. The culture at Rice
Alliance is favorably biased towards business plan competitions, rather than innovation competitions.
Unlike business plan competitions, innovation competitions tend to promote innovation as an end,
rather than a means. At Rice, the primary motivation for business plan competitions is to bring ideas to
market; innovation at Rice University is a means to commercialization ends.
The number and acquisition value for some Rice Alliance business plan competitors have been impressive.
128 competitors have successfully launched companies, and 7 have exited through acquisitions. The
2005 Rice Business Plan Competition winner, Auditude, was acquired by Adobe for a reported $120
Million. Auditude also spun out another company, IntoNow, which was acquired in April 2011, by Yahoo,
for a reported total value of $20 to $30 million.
Rice University adopts several eligibility standards that serve as the rule of thumb for business plan
competitions applicants. Winners of the competition, which now serve as both catalyst and support
structure, receive about $100,000 in seed funding. Participants are early stage companies, who may
not have received over $500,000 in venture funding, and are seeking funding to develop commercial
prototype. However, most teams have received some level of federal funding.
Rice considers itself one of the irst universities to institute a university-wide entrepreneurship center.
And the Rice Business Plan Competition provides students excellent experiential education. But there
9
Comments by Brad Burke, Managing Director, Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
A-50
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
have been some drawbacks and challenges. The competition is on some level a victim of its success. The
size and scope of the competition now requires increasingly more resources. Even so, Rice continues to
seek innovative ways to ensure that every engineering student has some awareness of commercialization
and entrepreneurship.
Other challenges abound. While many faculty members at Rice have a strong culture of entrepreneurship,
overall, faculty feel they can improve on the 3 or 4 companies they commercialize annually. Faculty
can also more effectively draw connections between their research and the creation of societal impact.
There is a widespread concern that America is losing its global leadership position in research and
commercialization. Government for its part should continue to improve policy and programs that
promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization of technology. The Ofice of Innovation
& Entrepreneurship’s university case studies are a good start. Even so, especially because of its strong
focus on research and commercialization, these remain the types of drawbacks and challenges the Rice
Alliance is happy to engage. Houston’s regional and local economy, for instance, derives invaluable
beneits when Rice University convenes next generation companies.
In 2012 Rice Alliance will, in addition to the just completed Business Plan Competition, host the 2012
Energy & Clean Technology Venture Forum, and the 2012 IT and Web 2.0 Venture Forum, among several
other events. Rice University has also been severally recognized for its commitment to innovation and
commercialization. These include the 2011 & 2012: #14 Best U.S. Entrepreneurship Program – US News &
World Report; and the 2011 NASDAQ OMX Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, among others.
Below is an enumeration of Rice University programs that support the ive focus areas outlined in the
NACIE sponsored university commitment letter.
Student Entrepreneurship
lxxxi
Rice University Technology Venture Challenge
is a business plan competition where undergraduate
students submit business plans for new technology ventures. Ventures have ranged from a solarpowered electric vehicle, improved tools for liposuction, low-cost vision testing device for individuals
from developing countries, improved dry-eye diagnostic tool, improved deibrillator to ensure proper
placement, among others.
CoRE—Community of Rice Entrepreneurs is a Rice undergraduate student entrepreneurship club that
founded the business competition which is open to all Rice undergraduate students. The competition
is supported by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Rice Center for Engineering
Leadership (RCEL), and Finger Interests, a local investment irm headed by Jerry Finger, who is also an
Adjunct Professor in Management at the Jones Graduate School of Business.
•
Teams compete for three cash prizes totaling $8,750; and
•
The grand prize is $5,000 in cash. More than 25 judges from the Houston business and
investment community evaluate the business plan presentations.
lxxxiv
In 2011 the Rice Alliance
awarded prizes to all eight engineering and science graduate students
and post-doctoral fellows who presented a four-minute pitch on their research indings and commercial
applications for promising nanotechnology research at Rice University.
The Rice University Business Plan Competition (RBPC) is the world’s richest and largest (according to
Rice), awarding more than $1.3 million in prizes; Over 133 past competitors are in business today having
raised in excess of $394 million.
Since 2001, 133 RBPC teams have launched their companies and are still in business today, raising a
lxxxiii
total of nearly $400 million in funding
.
In April 2012, 42 teams from around the world competed in front of 250 judges for an expected $1.3
million in prizes.
There are also additional prizes for the Elevator Pitch Video competition.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-51
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
The RBPC expects to award 9 Major Investment Prizes including:
•
$150,000 Grand Prize Investment from The GOOSE Society of Texas;
•
$100,000 from Kleiner Perkins Cauield & Byers Prize for Clean Tech Innovation;
•
$100,000 from Greater Houston Partnership/Opportunity Houston Investment Prize Life Science;
•
$100,000 from Greater Houston Partnership/Opportunity Houston Investment Prize Energy/IT/Nano Aerospace;
•
$100,000 from DFJ Mercury Tech Transfer Investment Prize;
•
$100,000 from Waste Management “Think Green” Investment Prize;
•
$100,000 from OWL Judges Investment Prize;
•
$100,000 from Department of Energy Clean Energy Prize; and
•
$20,000 from Courageous Women Entrepreneurs Prize.
3 Day Startup is an entrepreneurship education program designed for university students with an
emphasis on learning by doing.
•
The idea is simple: start tech companies over the course of three days
Faculty Entrepreneurship
Faculty Advisory Committee is one of the internal advisory bodies of the Rice Alliance for Technology
and Entrepreneurship (Rice Alliance), a nationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of
technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education, and the launch of technology companies.
Faculty members also work closely with the Ofice of Technology Transfer to protect intellectual
property developed by them during their pursuit of the university’s mission of providing an unsurpassed
educational experience to its students and serving the educational needs of the larger community.
lxxxiv
Rice Innovation Management System (RIMS)
is an on-line system by the Ofice of Technology
Transfer that allows researchers, especially faculty, at Rice to disclose their research innovations
electronically. This new technology is the irst step that professors take to turning their inventions into a
product or service. By using the new system, faculty members will be able to reap some of the inancial
beneits of their inventions, create opportunities to receive additional funding for research and also
helps them coordinate with other researchers if there is more than one group working on an invention.
University Technology Transfer Functions
lxxxv
The Rice Ofice of Technology Transfer (OTT)
is a component of the University’s outreach efforts
to make the beneits of new discoveries available to the public. OTT provides a service to Rice faculty
members, students and staff researchers by protecting intellectual property developed by them.
•
The OTT facilitates the interaction between academia and industry, so that science may
be transformed into technology.
lxxxvi
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Rice Alliance)
is Rice University’s nationallyrecognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship
education, and the launch of technology companies. It was formed as a strategic alliance of three
schools: the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences and the Jesse
H. Jones Graduate School of Business in collaboration with the Vice Provost and the Ofice of Research.
•
Since its inception in 2000, the Rice Alliance has assisted in the launch of more than 250
start-ups which have raised more than half a billion dollars in early-stage capital;
•
More than 1000 companies have presented at the 125+ programs hosted by the Rice
Alliance; and
•
More than 26,000 individuals have attended Rice Alliance events in the past nine years
and over 24,000 individuals subscribe to the Rice Alliance Digest newsletter.
A-52
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
University-Industry Collaboration
Rice University has initiatives that form part of its industry collaboration. These include: The Virginia
lxxxvii
and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation Collaborative Research Fund
. The foundation generously
provided $3 million over ive years for collaborative research among investigators at Rice University,
Texas Children’s Hospital, and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.
•
The program is designed to promote truly excellent, collaborative, and interdisciplinary
research among investigators at the three institutions; and
•
The program focuses on junior investigators who have not yet established funding as well
as experienced investigators who are new to collaboration among the three institutions
lxxxviii
Rice’s Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology
has on-going research
collaboration with nanoAlberta, part of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology in Canada, to
address issues surrounding the production of petrochemicals from Alberta’s oil sands, one of the world’s
largest reserves of recoverable oil.
lxxxix
Rice University is also one of Texas Instrument’s
primary academic partners for research in
embedded processing. Rice’s digital signal processing (DSP) researchers recently won a new, three-year
$1 million grant under the program.
Regional and Local Economic Development
xc
Rice 360° draws on the diverse experience of faculty from the Jones School of Management, the
Baker Institute of Public Policy, and the Schools of Social Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and
Engineering to determine how to make technologies available, meaningful, and useful to people
around the world. These technologies include a low-cost incubator designed Rice students that is with
phototherapy lights based on the Blantyre Hot Cot, which has been used in a Malawi hospital now for
four years to treat babies with neonatal jaundice.
Deep - Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of Rice’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
Rice University is a leading private research University and an Association of American Universities (AAU)
member school. Mr. Brad Burke’s comments have been instructive in better understanding Rice’s various
innovative entrepreneurship, research, and technology transfer programs. It also frames the NACIE
commitment letter by way of Rice University’s strategic plans and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks Rice’s assistance with this case study, and looks
forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation infrastructure.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-53
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Commercialization of Research at
University of Southern California (USC)
10
Overview – Building an Innovation Community
The University of Southern California (USC) is a private, not-for-proit, nonsectarian, research university
located in Los Angeles, California. USC was founded in 1880, making it California’s oldest private research
university. The university has a “very high” level of research activity, receiving $463.7 million in sponsored
research between 2008 and 2009.
Dr. C. L. Max Nikias became the University of Southern California’s eleventh president in August 2010.
Dr. Nikias is the holder of the Robert C. Packard President’s Chair and the Malcolm R. Currie Chair in
Technology and the Humanities, and also chairs the USC Hospital’s Governing Board. He holds faculty
xci
appointments in both electrical engineering and the classics .
Not surprisingly, culture and community are important drivers of innovation at USC. Since innovation
and entrepreneurship is ultimately about cultural change, university leadership works hard to drive
community awareness of USC as an innovation “magnet.” At USC, innovation is not an exclusive preserve
of any school or center; a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship is promoted and celebrated
campus wide without bias. Centers and institutes are not innovation silos but instead function as parts of
a cohesive university community.
Ms. Krisztina “Z” Holly was vice provost for innovation at USC, and executive director of the USC Stevens
Institute for Innovation, where she worked with academic units across USC to identify promising
innovations and innovators, helping faculty and students make societal impact with their ideas. Z, a
member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), oversaw a diverse
staff with expertise spanning business, marketing, inancial and intellectual property management,
xcii
technology licensing, and new venture creation .
In addition to being dispersed campus wide, innovation at USC is top-down/bottom-up agnostic.
Innovative “garage” and “scalable” businesses alike are encouraged, especially among the student
community. Consistent with USC’s bottom-up approach, two USC seniors (Nathan Doctor and Reuben
Fine) are helping entrepreneurially minded students connect with innovative companies who are seeking
“out-of-the-box” thinkers. With support from entrepreneurial and engineering campus organizations, the
seniors hosted a special event called the Entrepreneur Recruit at USC in April 2012. Another student
driven innovation event is the recently concluded the USC Gamers Network presents: GAME ON 3, a
semi-annual video game tournament.
Other competitions and events with industry partners abound. With assistance from innovation partner,
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), TEDxUSC 2012 will deliver an intellectual journey illed with brilliant
speakers, captivating performances, amazing new technology, and thought-provoking short ilms. The
theme for this year’s event is “A Journey Through Spheres of Inluence.” Another industry sponsored
event, Red Bull North America’s Game & Demo Lounge, will feature interactive tech demos, next
generation video games, and a digital media art gallery.
TEDx, launched by USC in 2009, has become a global phenomenon. It has resulted in over 3,200 TEDx
events in more than 90 countries and 40 different languages. TEDxUSC is produced and managed by
the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation. These and several other USC innovation and entrepreneurship
events have been invaluable in securing external stakeholder buy-in, as well as in enhancing USC’s
reputation as an innovation community.
Institutional agnosticism or at least recognition/accommodation of the tradeoffs, between top or
bottom-driven innovation, and “garage” or “scalable” entrepreneurship have all been helpful in building
USC’s vibrant innovation culture. But ultimately, USC’s success is attributable to university leadership’s
commitment to promoting an innovation culture within the university, while also establishing a reputation
for the university as a “magnet” for innovation and entrepreneurship with the “right people” in the
10
Comments by Krisztina “Z” Holly, former Vice Provost for Innovation, USC, & Executive Director, the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation
A-54
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
community. Otherwise innovation may just become brute force.
Below is an enumeration of USC’s programs and initiatives that support the ive buckets in the NACIE
sponsored university commitment letter.Student Entrepreneurship
xciii
The Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC)
at USC Marshall School of Business has
several innovation and entrepreneurship programs for students.
•
MBA Commercialization Teams: Through the Technology Feasibility Course, the Ideas
Empowered Program, and by special request from researchers, CTC recruits MBA
students to join researchers to conduct technology/market roadmaps, feasibility studies,
and business design.
•
Internships: Graduate and undergraduate students can apply for internships in startups
through CTC’s partnership with the Business Technology Center of the County of Los
Angeles, and with USC alumni.
•
CTC’s academic component includes courses at the graduate level that prepare students
to create new technology ventures.
•
In conjunction with the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, CTC offers
a Certiicate in Technology Commercialization; a four-course program open to
matriculated and non-matriculated individuals in a graduate program or holding a
graduate degree. This university certiicate is designed to give applicants a specialty in
technology commercialization.
In addition to the certiicate program in technology commercialization, USC Marshall School of Business
also offers concentration in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.
xciv
The Entrepreneurship and Venture Management concentration at USC Marshall School of Business
provides students with a thorough grounding in the business skills needed to start or manage a rapidly
growing business. The courses offered not only give students the skills to excel in established industry
roles; they also give the students the ability to spot and take full advantage of opportunities in small
irms.
The Technology Commercialization concentration at USC Marshall School of Business prepares
students to work in a variety of careers associated with technology commercialization. These include
managing technology development projects; intellectual property or project portfolio; consulting
to companies seeking to derive new revenue streams off archived IT; consulting to companies in the
areas of technology and market feasibility; and managing commercialization effort. In addition, the
concentration prepares the entrepreneur to take a technology from idea to market with in-depth and
real-world knowledge of the technology commercialization process.
xcv
The USC Entrepreneurship Club (eClub) helps students learn about entrepreneurship and launch
their companies or ideas outside of the classroom, regardless of their major. For over a decade, the
organization has served as an entrepreneurship hub for students and alumni. The eClub is also committed
to organizing highly valuable and innovative events, while creating a support structure of resources,
networks, and opportunities for startup and existing businesses.
xcvi
The USC Student Innovator Showcase and Competition presented by the USC Stevens Institute for
Innovation, is a university-wide innovator showcase which gives parents and students a highly interactive
glimpse into the imaginations of USC student innovators, and a sneak peek at tomorrow’s world. The
showcase is hosted each year during the opening day of Trojan Family weekend and is followed by an
awards reception (which includes cash prizes).
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-55
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Faculty Entrepreneurship
xcvii
The Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
develops, supports, and disseminates leadingedge interdisciplinary scholarship on entrepreneurship. Among other programs and services, the
Center provides research support to faculty members for entrepreneurship-related projects through its
annual Faculty Research Awards. In 2011, the Greif Center awarded three faculty research grants totaling
$11,000. Other programs include:
•
The Greif Seminar Series brings leading entrepreneurship researchers to the Marshall
School to present their recent work;
•
Greif-sponsored Conferences bring together academics from around the world to
present and discuss recent research; and
•
The Greif Research Impact Award is a $5,000 annual award given to the researcher(s)
who publishes the most impactful entrepreneurship article in top management and
entrepreneurship journals.
xcviii
The James H. Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund
is USC’s university-wide faculty research
grant support mechanism. It awards several hundred thousand dollars each year through its annual
James H. Zumberge Awards competition. The Zumberge Fund promotes the initiation of research at USC
through two types of awards: Individual Awards and Interdisciplinary Awards. Recipients of Zumberge
Interdisciplinary grants also derive these added beneits:
•
Individual Awards help newer faculty launch their research careers, and support research
in areas with limited external funding opportunities through grants of up to $25,000;
•
Interdisciplinary Awards of up to $50,000 foster collaborative efforts among faculty
from different schools and disciplines that lead to sustained interdisciplinary research
programs and projects;
•
$5 million per year in support from the National Science Foundation’s Science and
Technology Center program, to establish the Center on Dark Energy Biosphere
Investigations at USC; and
•
More than $4 million per year from the National Institutes of Health to bring the
Bioinformatics Research Network (BIRN) to USC.
University Technology Transfer Functions
The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation is a university-wide resource in the Ofice of the Provost designed
to harness and advance creative thinking and breakthrough research at USC for societal impact. The
Stevens Institute nurtures, protects, and transfers the most exciting new innovations from USC to the
market and thus provides a central connection for industry seeking cutting-edge innovations in which
to invest.
The Stevens Institute develops the innovator as well as innovations, through educational programs,
community-building events, and showcase opportunities. From the biosciences and technology, to
music and cinematic arts, USC Stevens connects faculty, students, and the business community to create
an environment for stimulating and inspiring innovation across all disciplines.
xcix
The Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering (AMI) at USC facilitates a faculty-welcoming
process to help inventors mature their creations so that they can be transformed into commerciallyviable medical products that help people and generate successes for inventors.
A-56
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Beginning with a free consultation, AMI USC professionals provide a range of services for investors and
companies including:
•
Information on how to start a new own company;
•
Detailed education on the commercialization process;
•
Intellectual Property (IP) evaluation and market analysis; and
•
Comprehensive assistance to inventors with the entire process of maturing their
inventions for commercialization.
c
The Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) at the USC Marshall School of Business mission
is to identify, encourage, and support technology entrepreneurship activities among faculty, students,
and staff. CTC assists in the areas of IP issues, business feasibility analysis, business design, start-up
inancing, management team acquisition, preparation for funding, and related issues.
University-Industry Collaboration
USC welcomes industry collaboration to commercialize research, nurture startups, attract and motivate
commercialization talent, and educate and train a world-class workforce.
ci
The Ideas Empowered Program completed its pilot year in 2010. The program provides rigorous
mentoring, programmatic support, and more than $450,000 in proof of concept funding to seven
breakthrough ideas that have the potential to spinout of USC within two years. One of these projects,
Cred.FM - led by USC School of Cinematic Arts professor and Co-founder of the EA Game Innovation
Lab at USC, Chris Swain, has already completed their proof of concept within a year of participation in
the program and will soon launch a beta of their social networking music sharing game.
The USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Keck School of Medicine of USC, the USC Stevens Institute for
Innovation, and the Los Angeles Basin Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI) have been selected
to participate in the exclusive Coulter Translational Research Partnership Program. Announced in April
2011, the prestigious program awards pioneering institutions that are fostering tomorrow’s translational
technologies and innovations in biomedical health care. The ultimate goal of this partnership is to focus
on outcomes that will save, extend, and improve patient lives.
Johnson & Johnson and the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, joined forces to form the USC – JNJ
cii
Translational Innovation Partnership Program , designed to more rapidly develop early stage health
science and medical technologies. Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Ofice of Science and Technology
(COSAT) will provide $250,000 over two years. The USC Stevens Institute will lead a joint USC / JNJ COSAT
review committee to identify groundbreaking ideas developed by USC’s faculty for funding through
this program. The program is structured to create a collaborative environment between academic and
industry peers.
TEDxUSC has become a global phenomenon. TEDxUSC has been one of the most sought after,
inspiring, jaw dropping, and entertaining conferences hosted by the University of Southern California.
The presenter line-ups fascinate and delight guests, with mind-blowing technology demos, captivating
talks, and stirring musical performances. Since creating TEDxUSC in March of 2009 and distributing
the best practices, more than 2000 TEDx events have taken place in more than 90 countries and 37
different languages. Corporate partners have included PricewaterhouseCoopers and Red Bull USA,
among others.
The USC Stevens Institute will continue outreach to partner with stellar private companies to fund and
develop technology translation.
Regional and Local Economic Development
The University of Southern California leverages its unique relationships with industry, government, and
nonproits to spur economic development and encourage innovation across campus and throughout
the nation.
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-57
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
An independent economic study suggests that USC generates $4.9 billion annually in economic activity
ciii
in the Los Angeles region and beyond . By December, 2008, USC produced about $2.1 billion dollars
in total direct spending: wage and payroll expenditures of $1 billion, capital projects spending of $130
million and various purchasing expenditures of $430 million. Students spent another $503 million for
goods and services, while visitors to USC spent about $12 million in the region. For every dollar spent
by USC in Los Angeles County, an additional 63 cents of output was created elsewhere in the regional
economy.
Capital improvement projects at USC also provide economic beneits for the City of Los Angeles, Los
Angeles County, and the immediate community. The new housing at the Village at USC will provide more
options to host a greater number of USC students, faculty and staff within walking distance of campus. The
university-owned area north of campus, including the new Village development, will provide housing for
up to 5,200 students and 250 faculty/student family apartments in a variety of housing types including
studios to four bedroom units.
•
Crucially construction of the Village at USC is expected to provide economic gains:
•
12,000 new jobs (4,000 construction-related, 8,000 permanent) throughout the Speciic
Plan development area;
•
$1.1 billion construction-related economic impact on the Los Angeles County economy;
•
$2.8 million in one-time construction revenue for the City of Los Angeles;
•
$1.7 million in annual revenue beneits for the City of Los Angeles from The Village of
USC operations; and
•
$3.8 million in tax increment to the Community Redevelopment Agency through the year
2030; this is the single largest addition of tax increment revenue in South Los Angeles.
These are just but some of the several ways activities at USC drives and beneits the regional economy.
Deep-Dive Questions
•
Is innovation an integral part of USC’s institutional culture?
•
Why is it important? And how does it inluence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
•
How do you envision your program in the future?
•
What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket, especially regional and local
economic impact?
•
How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
•
Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
– Why, or why not?
•
How has USC’s one university in many places (multiple campus & online) model
hindered or helped faculty and student innovation?
•
Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
The University of Southern California (USC) is a private, not-for-proit, research university and an
Association of American Universities (AAU) member school. Ms. Krisztina “Z” Holly’s comments have
been instructive in better understanding USC’s various innovative entrepreneurship, research, and
technology transfer programs. As well as the impact of the NACIE commitment letter in framing USC’s
strategic plans and institutional culture.
The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks USC’s assistance with this case study, and looks
forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation infrastructure.
A-58
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
Foot Notes
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
xvii.
xviii.
xix.
xx.
xxi.
xxii.
xxiii.
xxiv.
xxv.
xxvi.
xxvii.
xxviii.
xxix.
xxx.
xxxi.
xxxii.
xxxiii.
xxxiv.
xxxv.
xxxvi.
xxxvii.
xxxviii.
xxxix.
xl.
xli.
xlii.
xliii.
xliv.
xlv.
xlvi.
xlvii.
xlviii.
xlix.
l.
li.
lii.
liii.
liv.
lv.
lvi.
lvii.
lviii.
lix.
lx.
lxi.
lxii.
lxiii.
lxiv.
lxv.
lxvi.
lxvii.
lxviii.
lxix.
lxx.
lxxi.
lxxii.
lxxiii.
lxxiv.
lxxv.
lxxvi.
lxxvii.
lxxviii.
lxxix.
lxxx.
lxxxi.
lxxxii.
lxxxiii.
lxxxiv.
lxxxv.
lxxxvi.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6492198
http://arkansasbaptist.edu/?page_id=1330
http://arkansasnews.com/tag/arkansas-baptist-college/
http://www.arkindcolleges.org/member-news/arkansas-baptist-college/news-story-headline/
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6492198
http://coba.alasu.edu/ce_intlbusiness.html
http://www.cobanetwork.com/sbdc/
http://www.alasu.edu/news/news-details/index.aspx?nid=736
http://ui.asu.edu/whatisui/?ui=0
http://studentventures.asu.edu/about
http://innovationchallenge.asu.edu/
http://theatreilm.asu.edu/initiatives/pave/
http://10000solutions.org/
http://www.asu.edu/vppa/statelocal/iles/2012_legislative_brieing_.pdf
http://entrepreneurship.asu.edu/ind-funding/faculty-staff-grants
https://asunews.asu.edu/20080717_techtransfer
http://www.iercebiomarkers.com/story/5m-collaboration-cv-biomarkers/2011-11-02
http://www.asu.edu/vppa/statelocal/iles/2012_legislative_brieing_.pdf
www.forbes.com/2010/04/16/technology-incubators-changing-the-world-entrepreneurs-technology-incubator_slide_9.html
http://www.gatech.edu/vision
http://www.ece.gatech.edu/research/labs/GE_Smartgrid
http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=66014
http://www.industry.gatech.edu/about/about-ical/
http://www.usg.edu/news/release/economic_impact_of_university_system_reaches_13.2_billion
http://www.gatech.edu/budgetupdate/economics.html
http://www.theeliinstitute.org/business-plan-a-case-competitions/business-plan-competition
http://www.theeliinstitute.org/business-plan-a-case-competitions
http://www.theeliinstitute.org/courses-in-entrepreneurship
http://www.keadworks.com/
http://www.kojami.com/
http://www.theeliinstitute.org/research
http://www.howard.edu/research/index.html
http://ip.howard.edu/
http://ip.howard.edu/current_inventions.html
http://smartlighting.rpi.edu/resources/PDFs/SmartLightingERC_Brochure_Web.pdf
http://www.quateams.com/aboutUs_news05_25.html
http://www.howard.edu/calendar/main.php?calendarid=default&view=event&eventid=1196799067703&timebegin=2007-1206+00%3A00%3A00
http://www.georgetownhowardctsa.org/
http://www.bschool.howard.edu/deansmessage.htm
http://www.dcsbdc.org/DocumentMaster.aspx?doc=1001
http://www.coas.howard.edu/hucup/commdevleadership.html
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ff0710s.pdf
http://cra.gmu.edu/pdfs/researach_reports/recent_reports/Economic_Impacts_of_Howard_University.pdf
http://www.lorainccc.edu/About+Us/
http://www.lorainccc.edu/Academic+Divisions/Engineering+Technologies/Fab+Lab/
Ibid
http://www.lorainccc.edu/Faculty+and+Staff/Entrepreneurship/Student+IF+Information.htm
http://www.lorainccc.edu/Business+and+Industry/At+Work+for+Business/Manufacturing/Advanced+Manufacturing.htm
http://www.lorainccc.edu/Faculty+and+Staff/Entrepreneurship/if+faculty.htm
http://www.lorainccc.edu/About+Us/Press+Releases+2009/Skills-Certiication.htm
http://www.lorainccc.edu/Business+and+Industry/At+Work+for+Business/Manufacturing/Advanced+Manufacturing.htm
http://www.lcccproud.com/community/dr-roy-a-church-of-lorain-county-community-college-to-receive-h-peter-burg-regional-visionaward
http://www.lorainccc.edu/About+Us/Press+Releases+2011/White+House+Endorses+Launch+of+Innovation+Fund+America.htm
http://www.techtransfer.umich.edu/
http://innovate.umich.edu/u-m_programs/u-ms-entrepreneurial-ecosystem/
http://bec.umich.edu/index/
http://innovate.umich.edu/u-m_programs/u-ms-entrepreneurial-ecosystem/
http://www.innovationandeducation.com/about-the-authors
http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/unc/cq/kuralt.html
http://www.kenan-lagler.unc.edu/entrepreneurship.aspx
http://otd.unc.edu/
http://www.kenan-lagler.unc.edu/entrepreneurship/programs#launching
http://www.kfpefund.com/images/uploads/UNC_Kenan-Flagler_B-School_Gets_100K_Grant_from_Z_Capital,_James_Zenni_|_|_
peHUBpeHUB.pdf
http://www.kenan-lagler.unc.edu/programs/mba/concentrations/entrepreneurship.aspx
http://otd.unc.edu/starting_a_company.php
http://otd.unc.edu/OTDInterns.php
http://www.cednc.org/content/about+ced/10063
http://www.ncbiotech.org/about-us
http://www.sbtdc.org/about-us/
http://www.ncidea.org/
http://www.unc.edu/campus-updates/innovateCarolina
http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/1865.asp
http://www.foc-uss.com/ideacompetition-prairieview-johnsoncontrols.html
http://www.nasa.gov/ofices/education/programs/national/urc/group_IV/pvamu.html
http://www.pvamu.edu/Include/research/Presentations/2010%20RAMP%20Conference.pdf
http://otc.tamu.edu/about/stats.jsp
http://www.pvamu.sbdcnetwork.net/prairieview/Who_we_are.asp
http://www.teex.com/teex.cfm?pageid=media&area=teex&templateid=23&storyid=1024
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=410831
http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/Research_Revenues.asp
http://rbpc.rice.edu/RA2011_2Column.aspx?id=787
http://rbpc.rice.edu/RA2011_2Column.aspx?id=782
http://alliance.rice.edu/rbpc.aspx
http://ott.rice.edu/news/NewsDetail.cfm?NewsID=21
http://ott.rice.edu/news/NewsDetail.cfm?NewsID=13
http://alliance.rice.edu/about/
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★
A-59
The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus
lxxxvii.
lxxxviii.
lxxxix.
xc.
xci.
xcii.
xciii.
xciv.
xcv.
xcvi.
xcvii.
xcviii.
xcix.
c.
ci.
cii.
ciii.
A-60
https://www.collaborativeresearchfund.org/
http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=6657
http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/webemail/2008/enewsltr/public-affairs/jul08/landing/education2.shtml
http://www.rice360.rice.edu/content.aspx?id=40&linkidentiier=id&itemid=40
http://www.president.usc.edu/short-bio/
http://www.provost.usc.edu/senior-administration/krisztina-z-holly/
http://www.marshall.usc.edu/faculty/centers/ctc/about
http://classic.marshall.usc.edu/ecg/concentrations/entrepreneurship-program.htm#Entrepreneurship_and_Venture_Management
http://www.eclubusc.com/?page_id=41
http://stevens.usc.edu/studentinnovatorshowcase.php
http://www.marshall.usc.edu/faculty/centers/greif/research
http://research.usc.edu/for-investigators/funding/usc/zumberge/
http://ami.usc.edu/launchpad.php
http://www.marshall.usc.edu/faculty/centers/ctc/about
http://stevens.usc.edu/ideasempowered.php
http://stevens.usc.edu/JNJinnovationfund.php
http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/26426/USC-Has-Nearly-5-Billion-Economic-Impact
★ U.S. Department of Commerce ★ The Ofice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration ★