SERVICES: Educate: Training Programs
Technology Innovation Group provides workshops and courses in technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, technology transfer office operations, and incubation management. These programs are intended for researchers, students, faculty, technology transfer professionals, incubation professionals, entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to be one.
Several of our educational programs are described briefly below.
The Enterprise of Technology
“The Enterprise of Technology” is a cross-disciplinary graduate course at The University of Texas at Austin with students from the Colleges of Engineering, Natural Sciences, Pharmacy, Business, and Law developed by TIG’s Norman Kaderlan and Steve Nichols. Through lectures and outside speakers, the course examines the process of technology commercialization. Students also work in teams to identify and assess the commercial potential of an early-stage technology.
The course has been taught for four years, during which time students have assessed more than fourty technologies. These assessments have had more than an academic impact:
- In one case, the innovator used the students’ analysis to obtain an additional $1 million in research funding, which in turn enabled the development of two licenses for the technology.
- Two other students built on their initial assessment of a technology from UT’s College of Engineering to attract an investor and form a company that licensed the technology from the university.
Technology Commercialization: An Integrated, International Perspective
As part of the ICTWAY project in Romania, Technology Innovation Group created a two-day workshop on technology commercialization and how it can generate economic growth. The workshop has since been expanded for anyone who needs a thorough grounding in the basic concepts of successful technology commercialization. Topics include:
- Why commercialization is important and how it adds value
- The elements of integrated process research and innovation, and how they work together
- How ideas get from the mind of an innovator to the lab into the wider community
- The fundamentals of intellectual property protection
- How to communicate the essence of a technology
- Successful commercialization strategies based on current practices in the U.S., Europe and Asia
- Successful current practice in technology transfer at universities internationally
Technology Transfer Office Operations
This workshop is based on our publication, An Operations Manual for a Technology Transfer Organization, and is taught by its author, Jon Sandelin, The two day program examines how the policies and procedures described in the book can be put into practice.
International Incubation Management Academy
Technology Innovation Group teamed with San Jose State University and the International Business Incubator of Silicon Valley for a weeklong International Business Incubation Academy. Using a combination of lecture, individual and group exercises, speakers, and site visits, this intensive institute focused on successful incubation processes from around the world, alternative incubation models, network development, and management responsibilities.
Community and Company Workshops—New Brunswick Innovation Foundation
At the request of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF), in November 2005, TIG developed and delivered workshops for community stakeholders and portfolio companies. TIG principals Dr. Norman Kaderlan, Dan Hanson, and TIG Associate Dr. Steve Nichols led both programs.
The one-day community workshop, Building an Entrepreneurial Community, focused on how the province could improve economic development and regional competitive advantage through technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. The program described both the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the commercialization process, and how to harness them to generate economic growth. It provided a framework for participants to identify strengths and gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Brunswick and to identify needs and priorities that could set the agenda for the NBIF. Attendees included leaders in business, government, and universities; researchers; entrepreneurs; students; and other interested individuals.
The Enterprise of Technology, a 1 ˝-day workshop for NBIF portfolio companies, provided practical information and guidance on topics critical to technology-based ventures that are in the planning, startup, or growth phases. Subjects included intellectual property fundamentals, business models, marketing entrepreneurial ventures, communicating your opportunity, and obtaining investment. Participants had the chance to develop a value proposition for their company, and present their venture to the group and receive feedback from the instructors on both content and style. Attendees included entrepreneurs, board members, advisors, and students.
Participants in both workshops were engaged throughout the sessions, and evaluation feedback was highly positive. As a direct result of these workshops, NBIF companies began having regular meetings to discuss common issues and challenges.