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Closing the divide: accelerating technology commercialization by catalyzing the university entrepreneurial ecosystem with I-Corps™

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  • Aileen Huang-Saad

    (University of Michigan - Ann Arbor)

  • Jonathan Fay

    (Center for Entrepreneurship)

  • Lauren Sheridan

    (Center for Entrepreneurship)

Abstract

In recent years, universities have seen an increasing amount of activity in entrepreneurship and commercialization, not only for students, but for faculty as well. Traditionally, these initiatives have been separate, such that programs and curriculum have been focused on supporting just students or just faculty. In 2012, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the NSF I-Corps™ program, an innovative funding program that not only offered principle investigators (PIs) funding, but also exposed PIs to an innovation/entrepreneurship curriculum as well. The University of Michigan (U-M) was one of the first two NSF I-Corps™ Nodes funded in 2012 and has leveraged the program to catalyze the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This paper describes the growth of this entrepreneurial ecosystem since 1983, the call of entrepreneurship in the U-M College of Engineering and describes the role the U-M NSF I-Corps™ program has played across the university. The paper concludes with lessons learned and recommendations to administrators and policy makers considering more active promotion of academic entrepreneurship and commercialization in universities.

Suggested Citation

  • Aileen Huang-Saad & Jonathan Fay & Lauren Sheridan, 2017. "Closing the divide: accelerating technology commercialization by catalyzing the university entrepreneurial ecosystem with I-Corps™," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(6), pages 1466-1486, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:42:y:2017:i:6:d:10.1007_s10961-016-9531-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-016-9531-2
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    Cited by:

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    2. Uzi Haan & Shuli C. Shwartz & Fernando Gómez-Baquero, 2020. "A startup postdoc program as a channel for university technology transfer: the case of the Runway Startup Postdoc Program at the Jacobs Technion–Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(6), pages 1611-1633, December.
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    5. Theodoraki, Christina & Dana, Léo-Paul & Caputo, Andrea, 2022. "Building sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: A holistic approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 346-360.
    6. Ozen, Cagla & Owaishiz, Abdalilah & Dabic, Marina & Daim, Tugrul, 2023. "Exploring entrepreneurship in the academic environment," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Lokman Zaibet & Tarig Gibreel & Sheikha Akhzami & Rachid Hedjam & Houcine Boughanmi, 2019. "A research-innovation model to foster university-industry links: an empirical typology," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(9), pages 321-336, November.
    8. Klofsten, Magnus & Fayolle, Alain & Guerrero, Maribel & Mian, Sarfraz & Urbano, David & Wright, Mike, 2019. "The entrepreneurial university as driver for economic growth and social change - Key strategic challenges," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 149-158.
    9. Larissa Oliveira‐Duarte & Diane Aparecida Reis & Andre Leme Fleury & Rosana Aparecida Vasques & Homero Fonseca Filho & Mikko Koria & Julia Baruque‐Ramos, 2021. "Innovation Ecosystem framework directed to Sustainable Development Goal #17 partnerships implementation," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 1018-1036, September.
    10. Quoc Hoang Thai & Khuong Ngoc Mai & Tung Thanh Do, 2023. "An Evolution of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Studies: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
    11. Jonathan D. Linton & Wei Xu, 2021. "Research on science and technological entrepreneurship education: What needs to happen next?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 393-406, April.
    12. Matthew Good & Mirjam Knockaert & Birthe Soppe, 2020. "A typology of technology transfer ecosystems: how structure affects interactions at the science–market divide," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 1405-1431, October.
    13. Guindalini, Camila & Verreynne, Martie-Louise & Kastelle, Tim, 2021. "Taking scientific inventions to market: Mapping the academic entrepreneurship ecosystem," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    14. Sangpil Yoon & Hosung Son, 2023. "Is the government support programme for nurturing entrepreneurial universities effective? Evidence from Korea," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(4), pages 1895-1903, June.
    15. Charlene L. Nicholls-Nixon & Dave Valliere & Steven A. Gedeon & Sean Wise, 2021. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems and the lifecycle of university business incubators: An integrative case study," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 809-837, June.
    16. James Cunningham & Paul O'Reilly, 2019. "Roles and Responsibilities of Project Coordinators: A Contingency Model for Project Coordinator Effectiveness," JRC Research Reports JRC117576, Joint Research Centre.
    17. Sanjay Chaudhary & Puneet Kaur & Hind Alofaysan & Jantje Halberstadt & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Connecting the dots? Entrepreneurial ecosystems and sustainable entrepreneurship as pathways to sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5935-5951, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Researcher entrepreneur; University commercialization; I-Corps™; Technology commercialization; Entrepreneurial ecosystem;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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