Purdue graduate students can enroll in entrepreneurial track
August 20, 2015
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Graduate students' increased interest in technology transfer and entrepreneurship helped guide the Entrepreneurial Graduate Track program at Purdue University. From left are Alyssa Panitch, the Leslie A. Geddes Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue and a faculty director in the Deliberate Innovation for Faculty; Kate Stewart, co-founder and director of preclinical development for Symic Biomedical, a startup founded in 2014; and John Paderi, co-founder and director of research and development for Symic. Stewart and Paderi both became entrepreneurs after completing their doctoral degree programs at Purdue. (Purdue Research Foundation/Oren Darling) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University graduate students interested in entrepreneurship can now enroll in the Entrepreneurial Graduate Track program to learn about what is needed to move innovations to the market.
The program includes a series of two courses, workshops and provides access to numerous entrepreneurial resources at Purdue. Set to begin this fall, the program is jointly offered by the Krannert School of Management, Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship and the Purdue Foundry.
"There is a growing interest by graduate students across all disciplines at Purdue in moving their discoveries into the marketplace," said David Hummels, Krannert School of Management dean. "The Graduate Entrepreneurship Track will provide them with the knowledge and skills to develop a demand-driven commercialization path for their innovations. Personally, I am excited that Krannert, the Burton Morgan Center and Purdue Foundry will jointly lead this initiative to help Purdue's graduate students benefit society and create economic opportunity from their outstanding research."
Of the 67 startups Purdue Foundry has worked with in the past two years, more than 40 percent have graduate students directly involved as a founder, co-founder or in a leadership position.
Highlights of the graduate entrepreneurial track program include:
* Enrolling in a 500-level technology realization course and a 600-level entrepreneurial introductory course.
* Inviting a faculty director in the Deliberate Innovation for Faculty program or inviting a member of the Entrepreneurship Leadership Academy to serve on the candidate's Ph.D. or master's thesis committee.
* Learning about the Purdue Foundry commercialization plan process.
* Gaining opportunities to utilize a fast-track technology license.
* Participating in semester workshops.
"The entrepreneurial track will impact me because of the potential that technology transfer that is based on my research may offer on new pathways for study in the neurological area and, in the long-term, a deeper understanding of the brain," said Angel Monroy, a doctoral student in the School of Materials Engineering. "The track also will impact my future career by allowing me to accomplish a future goal that is to establish a business related to the biomedical and health fields."
The program also offers an opportunity for graduate students to be mentored by successful entrepreneurs and to network with potential investors.
"The program will prepare entrepreneurial-minded students for their future careers in academia, new ventures or technology-based companies," said Matthew Lynall, clinical associate professor of management and director of experiential learning in the Krannert School of Management. "It also will help them to shape their graduate research and ensure its realization, whether through a startup or collaboration with established companies."
As part of the program, students will work with the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurial hub in Purdue's Discovery Park.
"One of the aspects that makes Purdue's entrepreneurial track a strong opportunity for graduate students is that it gives them access to valuable resources, including the Purdue Foundry and the Graduate Entrepreneurship Club," said Greg Deason, Purdue Foundry executive director. "Students in the program also will go through the LaunchBox process where they will study potential markets, customers and financial models needed for a startup."
The Purdue Graduate Entrepreneurship Club provides students with networking and educational events to advance student entrepreneurship.
For more information on enrolling in the program, email Entrepreneurial Graduate Track at etrackenroll@purdue.edu.
About Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship
The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship fosters and stimulates the understanding and application of entrepreneurship with faculty and students across the Purdue campus and with stakeholders throughout Indiana and the world.
About the Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. The Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.
Writer: Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org
Media contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org
Sources: David Hummels, 765-494-4366, hummelsd@purdue.edu
Matthew Lynall, 765-494-6321, mlynall@purdue.edu
Greg Deason, 765-588-5254, gwdeason@prf.org
