Lecturer Michael S. McCorquodale Authors Michael S. McCorquodale and Richard B. Brown Academic and Professional Resources for Student-Led Technology Ventures

LecturerMichael S. McCorquodale

AuthorsMichael S. McCorquodale and Richard B. Brown

Academic and Professional Resources for Student-Led

Technology Ventures

Solid State Electronics LaboratoryCenter for Wireless Integrated MicrosystemsDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceUniversity of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI USA 48109-2122

American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference, Nashville, 2003

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anOutline

• Motivation and Background

• Commercialization of Engineering Research

• Academic Resources

• Professional Resources

• Statistics Measuring Entrepreneurial Activity

• Conclusions

ConclusionsStatisticsProfessional ResourcesAcademic ResourcesCommercializationMotivation

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anMotivation• Share our experiences leveraging University resources

to develop a student-led technology venture

• Discuss the importance of entrepreneurial resources in the U.S. engineering curriculum

• Present the process of commercializing engineering research as it has been implemented at Michigan

• Describe both academic and professional resources for students and how both are tied to the commercialization process

• Demonstrate how these resources are stimulating entrepreneurial activity at Michigan

• Stimulate development of entrepreneurial resources in engineering programs across the country


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anBackground

• Students face daunting challenges when attempting to commercialize engineering research

• Knowledge in many disciplines including engineering, business development, law, and technology transfer is required

• Where is the engineering student supposed to start?

• What resources could assist the engineering student?

• Is this really an important aspect of engineering education in U.S.?


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anImportance of Commercialization


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North America Europe Japan

• Over 80% of technology now from external sources

• Engineers must understand technology transfer

Figure 1. Percent of companies relying on external sources for technology from 1992 to 2001

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Importance of Commercialization


• U.S. venture capital investment is creating new opportunities for engineers in emerging business

• Engineering students must be properly educated to capitalize on these opportunities

Figure 2. U.S. venture capital investment from 1992 to 2002

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anCommercializing Engineering Research


Fundraisingor

OtherFinancing

FundamentalResearch

IP CleanResearch

Grant

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University

PublishFull Utility

PatentApplication

BusinessPlanning

andDevelopment

LicenseInitiate

Operations

ProvisionalPatent

Application

LicenseOption?

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11

Note: Milestones 2 & 5 are pursued by all graduate students independent of entrepreneurial interests

Figure 3. Commercialization Milestones

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anAcademic Resources

Engineering Courses• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 4983,4,6

Patent Law for Engineers

• Industrial and Operations Engineering 4227

Entrepreneurship

Business Courses• Entrepreneurial Studies 5157

New Venture Creation I

• Entrepreneurial Studies 5177

Researching and Writing the Business Plan


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anAcademic Resources

Student Organizations7,11

• Michigan EntrepreneursFounded by Electrical Engineering and Computer Science students and now boasts membership from academic units across the campus

• Entrepreneurial and Venture Capital ClubBusiness student club that works with engineers to find business students

• Hi-Tech ClubAnother business student club focused on technology


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anProfessional Resources


Zell-Lurie Entrepreneurial Institute• Business plan competitions• MBA Internship Program• Business development support• Grant Program• Connections to external resources• Milestones 7,10,11

Office of Technology Transfer• Tech transfer and licensing• Business development support• Grants and consultant funding• Connections to external resources• Milestones 1,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11

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Electrical Engineering andComputer Science

Biomedical Engineering

Chemical EngineeringMiscellaneousNuclear Engineering

Materials Science

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Breakdown of Disclosures


• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science comprise almost half of the disclosures from UMICH CoE

Figure 4. Breakdown of disclosures in FY2002 at the University of Michigan by engineering discipline

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Disclosures: Milestone #3 Patent Applications: Milestone #6

License Agreements: Milestone #9 Stat-up Companies: Milestone #10

Statistics Measuring Entrepreneurial Activity


Figure 5. University of Michigan College of Engineering disclosures, patent applications, license agreements, and start-up companies from 1997 to 2002

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anConclusions


• Trends in the economy and the development of engineering technology clearly motivate the need for entrepreneurial components to the U.S. engineering curriculum

• Michigan has implemented both academic and professional resources that have been successful in stimulating entrepreneurial activity amongst students

• Additional programs and resources continue to be developed at Michigan

• The authors aspire to have contributed concepts and motivation for the development of entrepreneurial programs at other institutions

Documents

Lecturer Michael S. McCorquodale Authors Michael S. McCorquodale and Richard B. Brown Academic and Professional Resources for Student-Led Technology Ventures