Changes

The University of Pittsburgh, at this point, does not have strong ties with large industry to provide students an arena in which to practice entrepreneurship.  Rather, Pitt looks to build companies and fund small ventures giving students a more hands on experience.  The reasoning for this is quite simple; the University of Pittsburgh has at its disposal UPMC and millions of dollars in research funding.  This contributes to a gold mine of market needs and clinical deficiencies.  Pitt’s major downfall is its lack of collaboration, until recently the departments did not work together to take advantage of these potential products and businesses.  The new age of student-driven entrepreneurship is changing that.  Students are working hands-on with clinicians and are bringing small ideas to life, which are leading to larger successes down the road.  Many of these ideas start as small projects but turn into start-up companies and small businesses.  The bottom line is industry collaboration is not necessary to make entrepreneurs at Pitt successful, better collaboration between departments will lead to a booming age of entrepreneurial partnership between UPMC and the Department of Bioengineering.

The City of Pittsburgh is, perhaps, one of the quickest and most vibrantly emerging entrepreneurial landscapes in the country.&nbsp; Pittsburgh is well known for low labor costs and having strong student graduates (36,000 annually from 36 colleges and universities).&nbsp; Further $3 billion is invested in R&D per year and Pittsburgh is located within 500 miles of half of U.S. power buyers.&nbsp; Fun fact: the Economist recently named Pittsburgh “Most Livable Place in the Continental U.S.” <ref>http://www.alleghenyconference.org/PittsburghRegionalAlliance/ </ref>

Startup Weekend Pittsburgh (October 18^th- 21^st) will follow the national movement, allowing anyone to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers.&nbsp;

== Other ==