School:Prairie View A&M University
Contents
Overview – Developing the Culture 8
Prairie A&M University (PVAMU) is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU enrolls about 6,324 undergraduate students and 1,758 graduate students who come from all 50 U.S. states and several countries throughout the world. About 56% of the students are female, and 44% are male.
Dr. Ruth Simmons is the eight President of Prairie View A&M University, the second oldest public institution of higher education in Texas. Under Dr. Ruth Simmons’s leadership, PVAMU continues to fulfil its land-grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and service.
In 2011 PVAMU began a 3 to 5-year drive to improve innovation and research outputs in the university. There is now also an increasing recognition throughout the university and the community. The five buckets contained in the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter provides a blueprint to building successful entrepreneurship, innovation, and commercializing programs and culture.
An innate entrepreneurial culture among PVAMU students has also been a major catalyst for innovation programs. The university’s strong engineering, science, technology, and nursing school have also been helpful.
Even so, PVAMU believes that an injection of “seed funding” access to USG grants will encourage faculty to their research rate, and commercialization effort.
Below is an enumeration of Prairie View A&M University program, L.I.V.E, an initiative to support innovative and creative minds at Prairie View A%M.
Student Entrepreneurship
LIVE -Leading Innovative Venture Entrepreneurs, We are a mentoring program that focuses on impacting young adults on how to become more innovative in their career of choice. Our program is run by Prairie View A&M students who are made of a variety of different majors and experiences. We challenge the youth to look behind the standard careers that are offered and to learn networking and opportunities are endless. LIVE is broken up into four objectives that we use to implement the effectiveness of our program to the young adults. Here is the break-down on what the children will learn in each objective:
Leading- Personal finance, professional development, health awareness, etiquette, tutoring, and career exposure. Innovation-Building new ideas, working in an algae environment, exposure to startups, creativity. Venture- Awareness of taking a risk, exposure to colleges, career, professionals, speakers Entrepreneurs- Execute business or startups, build a business plan, build a portfolio, pitch ideas to investors, competition
We work with high school grade levels of 9th-12th-grade students. The application process is simple and fast. We wanted to make this process simply because we don’t want to waste any time on your child’s success.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
There does not yet appear to be a formal arrangement to engage PVAMU faculty in entrepreneurship or commercialization of research initiatives. However, a number of PVAMU engagements appear to suggest an effort to engage both faculty and students in research and commercialization initiatives. These include:
The Center for Radiation Engineering and Science for Space Exploration (CRESSE), a NASA University Research Center (URC) at PVAMU, uses its core intellectual, academic and physical infrastructure to thoroughly investigate the scientific and engineering challenges of space radiation. A better understanding and mitigation of radiation will help realize America’s goal to someday safely return scientists, engineers and explorers to space destinations including Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), Mars, and beyond.
- The prime objective of CRESSE is to merge new materials and technology into innovative radiation shielding systems.
- These shielding systems will keep critical electronic and scientific instruments and astronauts safe from harmful radiation, during future robotic and human missions into deep space.
Research Focus: Through September 2013, CRESSE research will focus on reliability issues during future NASA lunar and Martian missions. Specific areas of focus will include the dependability of space flight instrumentation and the health and safety of astronauts.
The 2010 RAMP Conference—Research Association of Minority Professors— hosted by PVAMU sought to identify the University’s role in enhancing faculty research in education, engineering, health and technology. The conference suggested several incentives to improve faculty research. These include:
- Granting faculty additional release time from teaching
- Typical faculty teaching load is 12 semester;
- Grant may provide 25% released time; and
- University will grant a limited number of faculty an additional 25% release time for one semester or $3,000 to $6,000 to support faculty development.
University Technology Transfer Functions
PVAMU technology transfer functions are handled through its parent institution: the Texas A&M University System Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). In fiscal year 2010 OTC achieved [[|the followinghttp://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png]] milestone:
- Licensing revenue generated by the Office of Technology Commercialization exceeded $8.5 million;
- The A&M System filed 65 new U.S. and foreign patent applications;
- 30 U.S. patents were issued based on A&M System technologies;
- A&M System entered into 46 new license agreements for the development of technologies; and
- On average, OTC staff processed 4 new disclosures per week.
University-Industry Collaboration
Since 2004, the Prairie A&M University Small Business Development Center (PVAMU SBDC) has provided free consulting and assistance to businesses in Waller and Grimes counties. Services are extended to both start-ups and businesses seeking to scale-up. PVAMU SBDC professional consultants have extensive experience working with businesses in a wide variety of industries and bring practical knowledge and business expertise, from marketing to financial strategy.
On a Corporate level, PVAMU is collaborating more than ever with various industry leaders. The career services and students organizations such as The National society of Black Engineers and Society of Women Engineers are building sustainable corporate relationships that expose our students to more opportunities. New partnerships include Tesla, Intel, Dell, McAfee, Goldman Sachs, BP etc
Regional and Local Economic Development
Communi-Versity Economic Development Initiative is a first-of-its kind economic development strategy for the City of Prairie View, which is home to Prairie View A&M University. Communi-Versity Advisory Council is comprised of leaders from the Prairie View [[|communityhttp://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png]], PVAMU, and the private sector.
The Advisory Council works collaboratively with local city officials and economic development professionals to create jobs and attract additional business and investments that benefit both the university and the local community.
Deep-Dive Questions
- Is innovation an integral part of PVAMU’s institutional culture?
- Why is it important? And how does it influence entrepreneurship and tech transfer?
- How do you envision your program in the future?
- What is your vision for each of the case study’s bucket?
- How does your institution leverage (or intend to leverage) geographic endowment?
- Are your innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer programs integrated?
- Why, or why not?
- Are there any unique successes (and or challenges) you may wish to highlight?
Conclusion
The Center for Radiation Engineering and Science for Space Exploration (CRESSE) at the Prairie View A&M University is an example of the promise that the University’s engineering pedigree holds in its quest to enhance student and faculty innovation and entrepreneurship. PVAMU’s affiliation with the Texas A&M University System should also provide resources as well as give credibility to innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives.
Comments by Dr. Rick Baldwin have been instructive in better understanding Prairie View A&M University’s quest for expanded innovative entrepreneurship, research, and technology transfer [[|programshttp://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png]]. It has framed the impact of the NACIE commitment letter by way of PVAMU’s strategic plans and institutional culture.
The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship thanks Howard University’s assistance with this case study, and looks forward to a continued close and collaborative relationship in building America’s innovation infrastructure.
8 Comments by: Dr. Rick Baldwin, Advisor, SIEF Program
SIFE:
FOCUSS:
CRESSE:
RAMP Conference:
A&M OTC:
Small Business Development Center:
Communi-Versity Project:
Source: "The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus", Department of Commerce, October 2013.
Related Links
Prairie View A&M Campus Overview:
http://universityinnovation.org/wiki/Prairie_View_A%26M_University
Prairie View A&M University Student Priorities:
http://universityinnovation.org/wiki/Prairie_View_A%26M_University_Student_Priorities
Prairie View A&M University Project Pitch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxIQ4fzvVCg
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