Difference between revisions of "School:Pennsylvania State University"

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== Overview ==
+
= Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship =
== Student Entrepreneurship ==
 
== Faculty Entrepreneurship ==
 
== University Technology Transfer Functions ==
 
== College-Industry Collaboration ==
 
== Regional and Local Economic Development ==
 
== Landscape Analysis ==
 
  
{|
+
In the last 5 years, Penn State University has been expanding their entrepreneurial ecosystem by introducing new academic and extracrurricular programs, robust organizations focused solely on supporting entrerepeneurs, and expanded funding to initiatives across its 20 campuses statewide. The creation of [https://invent.psu.edu Invent Penn State], acting as the leading entreprenerial organization for Penn State, has allowed centralized strategy and partnership between otherwise scattered resources.
|-
+
 
| style="background:#f0f0f0" align="center" | '''Resource_Type'''<br/>
+
In 2013, Penn State introduced an intercollegiate [https://enti.psu.edu entrepreneurship minor (ENTI)] that allows students across most colleges to venture into subject clusters of their choice. The entrepreneurship minor offers unique and diverse clusters: Arts Entrepreneurship, Digital&nbsp;Entrepreneurship & Innovation,&nbsp;Entrepreneurship as Advocacy, Food and Bio-Innovation, Hospitality Management, New Media, New Ventures, and Social&nbsp;Entrepreneurship.
| style="background:#f0f0f0" align="center" | '''Resource_Name'''<br/>
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| style="background:#f0f0f0" align="center" | '''Resource Description'''
+
Off campus, organizations like the [http://launchbox.psu.edu Happy Valley LaunchBox] serve as a great starting point for student, faculty, and community entrepreneurs, alike. With free WiFi, coffee, and co-working space from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, anyone can utilize these resources. Several programs allow students and community members to start and launch a business:
| style="background:#f0f0f0" align="center" | '''Program/Department Affiliation'''
+
 
| style="background:#f0f0f0" align="center" | '''Resource_Website'''
+
*[https://launchbox.psu.edu/ideatestlab/ Idea TestLab] is a four-week program that gives curious minds tools, mentorship, and support to conduct customer discovery with potential users.
|-
+
*For entrepreneurs who are further along, the [https://launchbox.psu.edu/fasttrackaccelerator/ FastTrack Accelerator] program is a 16-week accelerator program that offers intensive, hands-on guidance and tools to grow their startup.
| Center<br/>
+
*Penn State is also home to the [https://invent.psu.edu/program/summer-founders/ Summer Founders Program], an immersive 13-week program that gives student and local entrepreneurs $10,000 in grant funding, dedicated office space, one-on-one mentorship, and additional resources to work on their startup or non-profit full-time over the summer instead of pursuing classes or an internship.
| Center for Engineering Design and Entrepreneurship
+
 
| The Center for Engineering Design and Entrepreneurship provides a flexible environment for faculty and students in engineering and business colleges in partnership with industry to design, construct, and test solutions to engineering problems.<br/>
+
 
| Engineering<br/>
+
 
| [http://www.cede.psu.edu/ http://www.cede.psu.edu/]
+
Throughout the year, several signature events serve as great opportunities to engage and grow in the entrepreneurship community. In late fall, [https://gew.psu.edu Global Entrepreneurship Week] celebrates both the University and community's committment to innovation, offering presentations, keynotes, and networking opportunities. Also in the fall, [https://hackpsu.org HackPSU] offers curious developers and students passionate about technology a 24-hour immersive experience with open-ended development and business challenges. In the spring, Penn State offers [https://startupweek.psu.edu Startup Week], bringing leading minds in innovation and entrepreneurship to campuses across Penn State and offering the community opportunities to learn through workshops and pitch their startups.
|-
+
 
| Coop/Internship Experience<br/>
+
Student organizations like [http://www.innoblue.org Innoblue] work hard to make sure that budding entrepreneurs have all possible resources to reach their goals. Innoblue holds workshops in subject matters of marketing, coding, brand creation, pitch delivery and more.
| Cooperative Education & Professional Internship Program<br/>
+
 
| <br/>
+
The accelerated undergraduate program that pushes an entrepreneurial mindset early on is the joint [https://science.psu.edu/interdisciplinary-programs/bsmba Science B.S./M.B.A. program]. Penn State also offers the [https://sites.psu.edu/hese/ Humanitarian Engineering & Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program] as well.
|
+
 
| <br/>
+
Along with an academic push for entrepreneurship, Penn State attempts to provide many resources for entrepreneurship, such as [https://makercommons.psu.edu/technologies/3d-printing/ 3D printers], [https://penntap.psu.edu/innovation/incu/ idea pitch competitions], [http://www.tedxpsu.com TEDxPSU], and more. Penn State also offers [https://invent.psu.edu/program/nsf-i-corps-site/ many] [https://www.smeal.psu.edu/cscr/events-old/supply-chain-entrepreneurship-pitch-contest opportunities] [https://agsci.psu.edu/entrepreneur/events/springboard for] [http://ideamakers.ist.psu.edu funding] for entrepreneurs on the rise.
|-
+
 
| <br/>
+
= Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship =
|-
+
 
| Course
+
Faculty play a large role in Penn State's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Many faculty commercialize their own research and turn projects into successful business ventures. Other faculty members choose to act as mentors for students and help nudge students towards the path of entrepreneurship.
| Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society (3)
+
 
|
+
There are three endowed chairs of entrepreneurs who can be found in the [https://agsci.psu.edu/support/impact/endowed-faculty College of Agricultural Sciences], [https://www.smeal.psu.edu/fcfe Smeal College of Business], and [https://www.sedtapp.psu.edu/eship/index.aspx School of Engineering Design], Technology, and Professional Programs. Faculty are provided with research centers, design and innovation centers, business plan advice, and funding programs.
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
+
 
|
+
Penn State also hosts its annual [https://pennstatevip.com Venture & IP Conference], a way for existing entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors to connect.
|-
+
 
| Course
+
= University Technology Transfer Function =
| E-SHIP Capstone / Entrepreneurship and New Product Development
+
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
+
In order to assist entrepreneurs with technology transfer, two Penn State resources and one statewide resource has been provided. Penn State runs both the [https://www.research.psu.edu/otm Office of Technology Management] and [https://www.research.psu.edu/otm/foundation Penn State Research Foundation]. Through its [https://cnp.benfranklin.org/techcelerator-at-state-college/ TechCelerator] program, Ben Franklin Technologies assists from the stages of research to startup. These programs exist to help entrepreneurs facilitate technology transfer.
| Engineering
+
 
|
+
= University-Industry Collaboration =
|-
+
 
| Course
+
Penn State has a few programs that allow university-industry collaboration, but this is still an area of great potential and growth for Penn State.  
| Energy and Modern Society(3)
+
 
|
+
One of the main initiatives that currently exists is the [https://nittanyai.psu.edu Nittany AI Challenge]. Through the program, selected student entrepreneurs will spend eight months working on launching an artificial intelligence-based solution that solves a campus-specific problem. The challenge gives students the chance to win up to $25,000, receive project mentorship, and work alongside challenge partners like Google Cloud and Microsoft. &nbsp;
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
+
 
|
+
Additional programs that exist today are [https://www.lf.psu.edu The Learning Factory] (where teams of students are given projects and budgets by industry to solve a problem within a semester), [https://hackpsu.org Hackathons] (companies such as Microsoft and Google hold their Hackathons at Penn State), and the [https://www.sedtapp.psu.edu/design/index.aspx Engineering Design Program] (where students learn to use industrial tools such as CAD) Currently, Penn State is working on increasing university relations with State College local entrepreneurs.
|-
+
 
| Course
+
= Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts =
| Entrepreneurial Business Basics
+
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
+
By collaborating with Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Penn State's Innovation Park, Penn State Business Development Center, and Centre Region Entrepreneur Network (CREN), Innoblue and various other Penn State organization and university programs, Penn State is attempting to decrease the gap between university and State College local entrepreneurs. The goal for State College is to bring local industry revenue to $3 billion by 2033.
| Engineering
+
 
|
+
= Landscape Canvas =
|-
+
 
| Course
+
To view various entrepreneurship and innovation resources at Penn State, check out our [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11apmIXr_vQO1vgXuCj5q2jdboU1b2xhfhKImkVnXRD0/edit?usp=sharing Landscape Canvas].
| Entrepreneurial Leadership
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| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
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== Penn State's Entrepreneurial Progress ==
| Engineering
+
 
|
+
Penn State is growing in its entrepreneurship ecosystem, but it's still very young. Before 2015, there was no centralized organization tasked with pushing innovation and entrepreneurship programs and organizations in a common direction. Now, with Invent Penn State, our university is moving in a great direction. There's still lots to be done, though. For example, resources are rather scattered across entities, making it hard for outside students to understand what's available and get involved. In addition, resources for pitch competitions and other student funding opporutnities are growing, but they're still not at levels comparable to other schools with great innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
|-
+
 
| Course
+
Note: The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) consists of 20 campuses. Each campus promotes entrepreneurship in its own way. For consistency, only Penn State's University Park campus information has been included.
| From Research Lab to Product: Lab Automation Course to Enable Rapid Product Development
+
 
| NCIIA grant funded
+
= Related Links =
|
+
 
|
+
[[Pennsylvania State University Student Priorities]]
|-
+
 
| Course
+
'''Current Fellows:'''
| From Research Lab to Product: Lab Automation Course to Enable Rapid Product Development
+
 
| NCIIA grant funded
+
[[Michael Miller|Michael Miller]]
|
+
 
|
+
[[Hayden Long|Hayden Long]]
|-
+
 
| Course
+
'''Previous Fellows:'''
| Internationalizing Entrepreneurship Education Program (IEEP)
+
 
| NCIIA grant funded
+
[[Mridul Bhandari]]
|-
+
 
| Course
+
[[Category:Universities]]
| Introduction to Engineering and Design Principles
+
[[Category:Schools]]
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
+
[[Category:Pennsylvania_State_University]]
| Engineering
+
{{CatTree|Pennsylvania_State_University}}
|-
 
| Course<br/>
 
| Invention Commercialization
 
| ENGR (MGMT/IST/ENTR) 426 Invention Commercialization (3) The goal of ENGR (MGMT/IST/ENTR) 426 is to have students understand why invention commercialization is complicated and difficult by participating in the process. For example, the inventor rarely has insights into the markets for his/her invention, is often not interested in the details of commercialization, and can be secretive. In addition, the business and financial communities often do not take the time, or have the resources, to understand new technologies and perform complex due diligence. Thus lack of due diligence often leads to rejection of innovation because existing companies often discount new technologies from outside the company as NIH - ""not invented here"". Effective transfer of new invention or innovation to a commercial product requires at least three different functional communities to interface: technical, legal and business. Each uses a different language, comes from different educational and cultural backgrounds, and may have an inherent distrust of the others. These functional barriers are difficult to overcome. This course teaches how these barriers can be broken down as student teams help bridge the perceived chasm between key players in the invention commercialization process. In these teams, students bring the skills and knowledge from their major to develop an invention commercialization recommendation for the Technology Transfer Office and the inventor. For example, business students focus on finance and market opportunity assessment; engineering and IST students focus on design refinements, prototyping support, and (if appropriate) making technology suggestions to the inventor. Upon completing the course, the students will have a working knowledge of different university and corporate technology or invention commercialization processes, important intellectual property management tools for inventions (patents, license agreements, option agreements) source of funding to move inventions toward product development, and delivering top quality presentations which outline the recommended commercialization path. Students who enjoy open-ended projects which involve the interplay of business and invention of who wants to work on interdisciplinary teams with the newest inventions will find this course a valuable course. NOTE: Because the inventions/products are based on Penn State faculty intellectual property, students must sign the Penn State Special Intellectual Property Agreement For Students - For Use When Assigning Intellectual Property to The Pennsylvania State University. The form can be viewed at [http://guru.psu.edu/policies/RAG13.html http://guru.psu.edu/policies/RAG13.html] The course will be offered both Spring and Fall semesters with an enrollment of 40 students. Effective: Spring 2011<br/>
 
|-
 
| <br/>
 
| Program
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| Market-Pull Technology Commercialization Team (TC Team) Course Sequence
 
| NCIIA grant funded
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| Market-Pull Technology Commercialization Team (TC Team) Course Sequence
 
| NCIIA grant funded
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| New Venture Creation
 
|
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| Service through Design and Entrepreneurship Certificate Program
 
| NCIIA grant funded
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| Social Entrepreneurship Course Development Planning Grant
 
| NCIIA grant funded
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| Stage II E-SHIP Team Projects (3)
 
| Teams from the core E-Ship courses can continue product prototyping, business planning, or support PSU researcher in technology feasibility work.
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| Technology Assessment and Transfer (3)
 
|
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
 
|
 
|-
 
| Course
 
| Technology-Based Entrepreneurship
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
 
| Engineering
 
|
 
|-
 
| Entrepreneur-in-Residence
 
| E.V. Bishoff Entrepreneurship-in-Residence Program
 
| Endowment bring in a tech entrepreneur who coteaches in courses for minor or management; trifold;
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
| Entrepreneur-in-Residence
 
| Invention to Venture
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
| Incubator/Business Accelerator
 
| Lion Launchpad
 
| The Lion Launchpad is a 501(c)3 organization, making it a separate entity from Penn State and the E-SHIP program. However, the goal of the Launchpad is to encourage student-run businesses. Any fledgling business can apply to be a Launchpad member, as long as at least one person on the team is a Penn State student. (NCIIA grant funded)
 
| Separate from University
 
| www.lionlaunchpad.net
 
|-
 
| Industry Partnership
 
| Industry Partnerships
 
|
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
| Mentoring/Coaching
 
| Lion Launch Pad Mentoring
 
|
 
| Separate from University
 
|
 
|-
 
| Network
 
| Penn State Entrepreneurs Network
 
| This is a student run organization that has M.B.A. students who help manage a network of undergraduate students, who are actively involved in the entrepreneurship community. The organization provides a network of contacts and maintains a communication channel for student activities & announcements.
 
|-
 
| Business
 
|
 
|-
 
| Program
 
| Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor
 
| The 18-credit Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) minor combines technology and business to create entrepreneurs and innovators. E-SHIP shows students of any major how to use their unique skills to become innovators in today's global business climate. The E-SHIP minor was founded thanks to a grant from the GE Learning Excellence Fund and the Penn State Leonard Center. The minor is now partially funded through the Gaelen Endowment for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Leadership, the E. V. Bishoff Engineering Entrepreneur in Residence, the Keen Endowment for Engineering Entrepreneurship, and the Eberhardt Endowment for Entrepreneurship in Engineering.
 
| Engineering
 
| [http://www.sedtapp.psu.edu/entrepreneurship/index.php http://www.sedtapp.psu.edu/entrepreneurship/index.php]
 
|-
 
| Seed Funding/Scholarships
 
| E-SHIP Venture Fund and Competitions
 
| NCIIA grant funded
 
|
 
|-
 
| Seed Funding/Scholarships
 
| Gaelen Endowment for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Leadership
 
|
 
| Engineering
 
|
 
|-
 
| Seed Funding/Scholarships
 
| Garber Venture Fund
 
| Providing MBA students with real-world experience is vitally important to the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship. As part of its mission, The Center oversees the Garber Venture Capital Fund. Established in 1999 by Dr. John Garber and his wife Bette, this $5 million venture fund brings to reality the process of private equity investing in early stage technology-based companies.
 
| Business
 
| [http://www.smeal.psu.edu/fcfe/garber http://www.smeal.psu.edu/fcfe/garber]
 
|-
 
| Speaker Series
 
| Agricultural Entrepreneurship Speaker Series
 
|
 
| Agriculture & Life Sciences
 
|
 
|-
 
| Speaker Series
 
| Norbert and Audrey Gaelen Entrepreneurship Speaker Series
 
| Bring in grad from college of engineering to do a speaking event; some $ given two other colleges to bring in their own entrepreneur from their own colleges; gets the buzz on campus;
 
|
 
|
 
|}
 

Latest revision as of 20:01, 5 June 2020

Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship

In the last 5 years, Penn State University has been expanding their entrepreneurial ecosystem by introducing new academic and extracrurricular programs, robust organizations focused solely on supporting entrerepeneurs, and expanded funding to initiatives across its 20 campuses statewide. The creation of Invent Penn State, acting as the leading entreprenerial organization for Penn State, has allowed centralized strategy and partnership between otherwise scattered resources.

In 2013, Penn State introduced an intercollegiate entrepreneurship minor (ENTI) that allows students across most colleges to venture into subject clusters of their choice. The entrepreneurship minor offers unique and diverse clusters: Arts Entrepreneurship, Digital Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Entrepreneurship as Advocacy, Food and Bio-Innovation, Hospitality Management, New Media, New Ventures, and Social Entrepreneurship.

Off campus, organizations like the Happy Valley LaunchBox serve as a great starting point for student, faculty, and community entrepreneurs, alike. With free WiFi, coffee, and co-working space from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, anyone can utilize these resources. Several programs allow students and community members to start and launch a business:

  • Idea TestLab is a four-week program that gives curious minds tools, mentorship, and support to conduct customer discovery with potential users.
  • For entrepreneurs who are further along, the FastTrack Accelerator program is a 16-week accelerator program that offers intensive, hands-on guidance and tools to grow their startup.
  • Penn State is also home to the Summer Founders Program, an immersive 13-week program that gives student and local entrepreneurs $10,000 in grant funding, dedicated office space, one-on-one mentorship, and additional resources to work on their startup or non-profit full-time over the summer instead of pursuing classes or an internship.


Throughout the year, several signature events serve as great opportunities to engage and grow in the entrepreneurship community. In late fall, Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrates both the University and community's committment to innovation, offering presentations, keynotes, and networking opportunities. Also in the fall, HackPSU offers curious developers and students passionate about technology a 24-hour immersive experience with open-ended development and business challenges. In the spring, Penn State offers Startup Week, bringing leading minds in innovation and entrepreneurship to campuses across Penn State and offering the community opportunities to learn through workshops and pitch their startups.

Student organizations like Innoblue work hard to make sure that budding entrepreneurs have all possible resources to reach their goals. Innoblue holds workshops in subject matters of marketing, coding, brand creation, pitch delivery and more.

The accelerated undergraduate program that pushes an entrepreneurial mindset early on is the joint Science B.S./M.B.A. program. Penn State also offers the Humanitarian Engineering & Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program as well.

Along with an academic push for entrepreneurship, Penn State attempts to provide many resources for entrepreneurship, such as 3D printers, idea pitch competitions, TEDxPSU, and more. Penn State also offers many opportunities for funding for entrepreneurs on the rise.

Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Faculty play a large role in Penn State's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Many faculty commercialize their own research and turn projects into successful business ventures. Other faculty members choose to act as mentors for students and help nudge students towards the path of entrepreneurship.

There are three endowed chairs of entrepreneurs who can be found in the College of Agricultural Sciences, Smeal College of Business, and School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs. Faculty are provided with research centers, design and innovation centers, business plan advice, and funding programs.

Penn State also hosts its annual Venture & IP Conference, a way for existing entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors to connect.

University Technology Transfer Function

In order to assist entrepreneurs with technology transfer, two Penn State resources and one statewide resource has been provided. Penn State runs both the Office of Technology Management and Penn State Research Foundation. Through its TechCelerator program, Ben Franklin Technologies assists from the stages of research to startup. These programs exist to help entrepreneurs facilitate technology transfer.

University-Industry Collaboration

Penn State has a few programs that allow university-industry collaboration, but this is still an area of great potential and growth for Penn State.

One of the main initiatives that currently exists is the Nittany AI Challenge. Through the program, selected student entrepreneurs will spend eight months working on launching an artificial intelligence-based solution that solves a campus-specific problem. The challenge gives students the chance to win up to $25,000, receive project mentorship, and work alongside challenge partners like Google Cloud and Microsoft.  

Additional programs that exist today are The Learning Factory (where teams of students are given projects and budgets by industry to solve a problem within a semester), Hackathons (companies such as Microsoft and Google hold their Hackathons at Penn State), and the Engineering Design Program (where students learn to use industrial tools such as CAD) Currently, Penn State is working on increasing university relations with State College local entrepreneurs.

Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts

By collaborating with Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Penn State's Innovation Park, Penn State Business Development Center, and Centre Region Entrepreneur Network (CREN), Innoblue and various other Penn State organization and university programs, Penn State is attempting to decrease the gap between university and State College local entrepreneurs. The goal for State College is to bring local industry revenue to $3 billion by 2033.

Landscape Canvas

To view various entrepreneurship and innovation resources at Penn State, check out our Landscape Canvas.

Penn State's Entrepreneurial Progress

Penn State is growing in its entrepreneurship ecosystem, but it's still very young. Before 2015, there was no centralized organization tasked with pushing innovation and entrepreneurship programs and organizations in a common direction. Now, with Invent Penn State, our university is moving in a great direction. There's still lots to be done, though. For example, resources are rather scattered across entities, making it hard for outside students to understand what's available and get involved. In addition, resources for pitch competitions and other student funding opporutnities are growing, but they're still not at levels comparable to other schools with great innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Note: The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) consists of 20 campuses. Each campus promotes entrepreneurship in its own way. For consistency, only Penn State's University Park campus information has been included.

Related Links

Pennsylvania State University Student Priorities

Current Fellows:

Michael Miller

Hayden Long

Previous Fellows:

Mridul Bhandari


Related links