Changes

= OVERVIEW =

The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public institution located in Mansfield, Connecticut founded in 1881. Standing as its own village with a student population of around 18,000 undergraduate students and 6,500 graduate students UConn is a medium to large size university. Recently there has been a push towards entrepreneurship and innovation at UConn with an increasing number of events and opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators to partake in.

= STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP =

At UConn, entrepreneurship is available as a minor provided as a joint effort through multiple schools within the university. There are numerous additional courses that revolve around entrepreneurship and promoting the ideas and values of a successful entrepreneur. These courses are split into three categories business, engineering, and law.  Soon A new minor will be offered in Engineering Entrepreneurship which will allow for the fusion of all theese disiplines.

One series of opportunities that tend to bring entrepreneurs together across campus includes the entrepreneurship and innovation events that occur every semester. The two largest events includes the Yale-UConn CBIT CORE Hackathon and TEDxUConn.  The hackathon draws over a hundred students from places all around New England to collaborate at UConn and compete for an entire weekend while problen solving and collaborating.

= FACULTY ENTREPRENEURSHIP =

When considering the faculty side of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation community at UConn both the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the UConn Entrepreneurship and Innovation Consortium come to mind as the most prominent players.

The UConn Entrepreneurship and Innovation Consortium is led by Co-Director Hadi Bozorgmanesh and Co-Director Timothy Folta. The consortium aims to collect and provide additional opportunities for students regarding entrepreneurship and innovation.

= UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FUNCTIONS =

UConn does not currently have a transfer office but there are a few offices such as the UConn Entrepreneurship and Innovation Consortium as well as the UConn Entrepreneurship and Innovation Society that both serve a role in connecting and directing students.

= COLLEGE-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION =

UConn works with Nerac when a student requires professional business advice. The student presents in front of an experienced panel in order to receive feedback on their innovative idea. This is only directed at a small portion of already established innovators and is invite only.

Succesful projects that come out of the Innovation Quest (IQ) challenge have gone on to become industry supported companies.  The amount of growth UConn is experiencing that further connects students to theese invaluable resources is truly amazing.

= REGIONAL AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT =

One of the largest resources within the region of UConn is Connecticut Innovations. CTInnovations works to bring investors and entrepreneurs together along with providing additional funding. They are connected with the UConn community and provide a great resource for a student with an established entrepreneurial venture.

One of the most recently finished buildings is the new Next Generation STEM building which houses 727 students in a state of the art dormitory complete with the first ever maker space on campus, the Learning Community Innovation Zone (LCIZ).  This space will allow students to pursue hands on learning that will help strengthen their academic experience from as early on as their first year in colege.

= CONCLUSION =