University-driven Technology Entrepreneurship is Key for State

Almost instinctively, we understand that there is a connection between MIT and the vibrant Route 128 Corridor around Boston, or between Stanford and the innovative and entrepreneurial dynamo of Silicon Valley.

But is the connection just about having a prestigious tier one school placed in the midst of an attractive metropolitan area? Or is there something more that's needed to provide the critical mass necessary for self-sustaining economic development?

Of course, university research expenditures are important, and need to continue and to grow, but the inference that a switch is flipped in a local economy once a university hits the magic $100 million mark in research expenditures is mistaken. What's the extra, critical ingredient?

The catalyst that turns pure research into local and regional economic growth is technology entrepreneurship with community and university support. This crucial factor is not sufficiently appreciated by Texas-based companies or Texas universities when they press their economic development agenda on state officials.

A network of university cultivation

How does a university cultivate technology entrepreneurship? Curriculum is vital, but so are resources. Our mission at Innovate Texas Foundation is focused on building a network, from El Paso to Beaumont and Amarillo to Brownsville, to connect our technological resources with entrepreneurs and capital. And from what we have seen lately, the opportunity is great.

Examples of university-driven technology entrepreneurship can be found at almost every university in the state. The University of Texas at Austin is typically the first school that comes to mind when people think of technology entrepreneurship. UT-Austin's resources include the IC2 Institute, the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization (MSTC) program, the Austin Technology Incubator, the Idea-2-Product competition and the Global MOOT Corp business plan competition.

But UT-Austin isn't the only school with a globally recognized business plan competition. In fact, students consider Rice University's business plan competition the most anticipated event of its type in the world. It's not hard to understand why: Teams competing at the 2010 business plan competition at Rice University will compete for more than $1 million in prizes.

Nor is university-driven entrepreneurship limited to our most widely known schools. The Camino Real Venture Competition, launched in 2009 in conjunction with the University of Texas at El Paso, gives students close proximity in to nearly $6 billion in federally funded technology research from Los Alamos to the new Texas Tech medical school. Students participating in the WBT IC2 Institute business plan competition, held at the WBT showcase each year in Arlington, present their technologies to the world's largest forum of pre-screened emerging technologies where presenters have gone on to raise in excess of $450 million since 2002.

The University of Texas at Arlington's Collaborative Partnership provides universities with a portal of shared information on research resources and expertise. UT-Austin recently created Texas Venture Labs to connect the university's resources with others in the greater Austin area to help kick-start entrepreneurial ventures. UT-Arlington and UT-Austin are driving technology entrepreneurship in a new way. Established technology entrepreneurship programs from UT-Arlington and UT-Austin now have access to a collaborative network that will aid in the transfer of the technology into the commercial world. But, where can universities and entrepreneurs outside of Arlington and Austin tap into a collaborative network of technology commercialization resources?

A catalyst for innovation in Texas

Innovate Texas Foundation can help. The Foundation serves as a catalyst for innovation and technology commercialization in the state of Texas. Imagine the economic impact if both academic and industry resources could be collected across the entire state and provided to users familiar with the technology commercialization process. This is the very reason why we believe Texas has the greatest opportunity for economic development and expansion in the imminent future and is the best place in the country to do business.