== Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship ==
In <font size="2">Innovation and Entrepreneurship are a world where technology changes rapidly, there core focus at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). This is only one skillset that will always be in demand: demonstrated through the ability to adapt.unique </font><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font size="2">[http://innovation.uccs.edu Bachelor of Innovation<sup>TM</sup>] (BI) degree. There are currently 12 BI degrees, spanning across the College of Business, College of Engineering and Applied Science, College of Education, and the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. This degree combines an emphasis (a major), the innovation core, and a cross-discipline core (students can choose between business, globalization, creative communication, or engineering technology). The innovation core, the heart of the BI, provides students with an experiential education in innovation and entrepreneurship.</font></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-64463e47-3fa4-ae64-39f4-4a3dfac6b904"><span style="font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrapsmall;">The University of Colorado Colorado Springs understands this, and has a mission In addition to promote student innovation and entrepreneurship. UCCS has a unique the BI degree called , our campus, through the<[http:/span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13epiic.uccs.3333px; font-family: Arial; color: rgbedu El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization (51EPIIC)], 51, 51); vertical-alignregularly hosts events focused on innovation and entrepreneurship such as [http: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bachelor of Innovation</span><span style="background-color: transparent/tedxuccs.com TEDxUCCS], font-size: 8px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51'''Startup Weekend''', 51'''Lion's Den Pitch Night''', 51); vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">TM </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(51'''Global Game Jam''', 51, 51)and font-family: Arial; font-size: 13'''EPIIC Nights Speaker Series'''.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap ">that directly translates into the promotion Each of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and in student's lives. Students in this program these events are required meant to engage encourage students to get involved in various entrepreneurial courses and innovation courses. For many student's this is an excellent opportunity innovative and first introduction entrepreneurial space, attempting to these concepts, one that encourages them reach both students who have ideas and students who just want to practice those skill on real project in the real world.</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13get involved.3333px white-space: pre-wrap;">This degree, however, poses If a unique problem: the degree is forming its own silo within the university. Siloing is the antithesis startup comes out of one of collaboration and innovation. Other degreesthese events, such as the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, are not exposed to this valuable form of education. Overall, entrepreneurship and innovation are highly encouraged pursuits on campus, and many opportunities for their experssion are available to if students.</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(51, 51create a startup independently, 51) font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In order to expand the reach of this education, the University Innovation Fellows team has chosen to focus on engaging freshmen level '''The Garage''' is available as an entrepreneurial workspace for students, and progressively providing more opportunities for practicing these valuable skillswho are developing companies.</span>
== Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship ==
<span id="docs-internal-guid-64463e47-3fa4-ae64-39f4-4a3dfac6b904"><span style="font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Within the Bachelors of Innovation™ we have two courses that teach our students about intellectual property and support our university technology transfer function. The first is Business and Intellectual Property Law. In this class, students dive into what intellectual property means and how they can protect their ideas. Students learn how to develop a patent and work together to understand how these skills fit into their futures. The second class, Technical Writing, teaches students how to research, find, and write grants, culminating in writing a real grant proposal for a real client. Both of these classes provide students with hands on experience and skills that they will be able to apply in their future careers. After taking these two classes students have a realistic grasp on what intellectual property is and how they can protect, and leverage it in their future.</span></span>
<span><span style="font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to the BI courses, the University of Colorado, as a system, has a Tech Transfer office which has the ability to license patents out to students to facilitate the development of a product or company around intellectual property that the University owns. This gives students the valuable opportunity to create innovations and protecting their intellectual property out of the box.</span></span>
== Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration ==