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= Overview – Building an Innovation Community<sup>10</sup> = The University of Southern California (USC) is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university. The university has a "very high" level of research activity, receiving $463.7 million in sponsored research between 2008 and 2009.
The University of Southern California (USC) is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university. The university has a "very high" level of research activity, receiving $463.7 million in sponsored research between 2008 and 2009. Dr. C. L. Max Nikias became the University of Southern California’s eleventh president in August 2010. Dr. Nikias is the holder of the Robert C. Packard President’s Chair and the Malcolm R. Currie Chair in Technology and the Humanities, and also chairs the USC Hospital’s Governing Board. He holds faculty appointments in both electrical engineering and the classics.
Not surprisingly, culture and community are important drivers of innovation at USC. Since innovation and entrepreneurship is ultimately about cultural change, university leadership works hard to drive community awareness of USC as an innovation “magnet.” At USC, innovation is not an exclusive preserve of any school or center; a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship is promoted and celebrated campus wide without bias. Centers and institutes are not innovation silos but instead function as parts of a cohesive university community.
Ms. Krisztina “Z” Holly is vice provost for innovation at USC, and executive director of the '''''USC Stevens Institute for Innovation''''', where she works with academic units across USC to identify promising innovations and innovators, helping faculty and students make societal impact with their ideas. Z, a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), oversees a diverse staff with expertise spanning business, marketing, financial and intellectual property management, technology licensing, and new venture creation.
In addition to being dispersed campus wide, innovation at USC is top-down/bottom-up agnostic. Innovative “garage” and “scalable” businesses alike are encouraged, especially among the student community. Consistent with USC’s bottom-up approach, two USC seniors (Nathan Doctor and Reuben Fine) are helping entrepreneurially minded students connect with innovative companies who are seeking “out-of-the-box” thinkers. With support from entrepreneurial and engineering campus organizations, the seniors hosted a special event called the Entrepreneur Recruit at USC in April 2012. Another student driven innovation event is the recently concluded the USC Gamers Network presents: GAME ON 3, a semi-annual video game tournament.
Other competitions and events with industry partners abound. With assistance from innovation partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), TEDxUSC 2012 will deliver an intellectual journey filled with brilliant speakers, captivating performances, amazing new technology, and thought-provoking short films. The theme for this year’s event is “A Journey Through Spheres of Influence.” Another industry sponsored event, Red Bull North America’s Game & Demo Lounge, will feature interactive tech demos, next generation video games, and a digital media art gallery.
TEDx, launched by USC in 2009, has become a global phenomenon. It has resulted in over 3,200 TEDx events in more than 90 countries and 40 different languages. TEDxUSC is produced and managed by the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation. These and several other USC innovation and entrepreneurship events have been invaluable in securing external stakeholder buy-in, as well as in enhancing USC’s reputation as an innovation community.
Institutional agnosticism or at least recognition/accommodation of the tradeoffs, between top or bottom-driven innovation, and “garage” or “scalable” entrepreneurship have all been helpful in building USC’s vibrant innovation culture. But ultimately, USC’s success is attributable to university leadership’s commitment to promoting an innovation culture within the university, while also establishing a reputation for the university as a “magnet” for innovation and entrepreneurship with the “right people” in the community. Otherwise innovation may just become brute force.
Below is an enumeration of USC’s programs and initiatives that support the five buckets in the NACIE sponsored university commitment letter.
= Student Entrepreneurship =