UAlbany Innovation Center Brings Entrepreneurial Workshops, Guest Speakers to Campus
An entrepreneurial course for faculty engaged in or pursuing federally-funded research and a guest speaker from a leading network security startup company are among the offerings slated this spring through the UAlbany Innovation Center.
The center will offer a seven-week program for faculty interested in commercializing basic-research projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The SUNY NYCRIN Regional I-Corps Short Course will take place on the University’s uptown campus from March 22-April 6.
The program will help participants learn to “identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and gain skills in entrepreneurship through training in customer discovery and guidance,” according to the program’s site.
Robert Manasier, entrepreneur-in-residence at UAlbany, will lead the course. He said key goals of the program include helping faculty identify knowledge gaps in their innovations and to lead them to the next step in making a commercial impact.
“For faculty who are constantly immersed in teaching responsibilities and in conducting research, it can be overwhelming to consider taking an idea to market,” Manasier said. “This program, brought to campus through the UAlbany Innovation Center, is one of the tools we can provide to help them through each step of the process.”
For more information, contact Maria Pidgeon, associate director of community and economic development at UAlbany.
Cybersecurity Symposium
Retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander, the founder, chairman, co-CEO and president of IronNet Cybersecurity, will headline a symposium next month with a talk on emerging cybersecurity education and technology trends.
The event, hosted by the University at Albany in conjunction with Syracuse University, will take place 5-9 p.m. in the Campus Center West Auditorium on Thursday, April 11.
A panel featuring industry experts and entrepreneurs will follow the main event. Register for the symposium.
Regional Business Plan Competition
The University’s School of Business will host the New York Business Plan Capital Region Semi-Finals beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 12.
Students pitch ideas or ventures in one of the following six categories: agtech/food; energy/environment; military/first-responder; medtech/well-being; tech/entertainment, and consumer products/services.
The competition is open to all enrolled undergraduate and graduate students from schools and colleges in the greater Capital Region of New York, according to Manasier.
All winners will be eligible to compete in the statewide final at Sage Armory in Albany on April 26.
Applications are due April 1. Register for the semi-finals.
About the UAlbany Innovation Center
The university launched the UAlbany Innovation Center in 2016 to facilitate collaboration between faculty researchers and the local business community, offer entrepreneurial programs, and provide access to facilities and other resources.
Participating faculty are exposed to programming that could position them to receive state, federal and private funding to assist in the commercialization of their disclosure, as well as comprehensive coaching, mentoring and support on entrepreneurial fundamentals from entrepreneurs in residence, according to Matt Grattan, director of community and economic development at UAlbany.
“Our mission for the center is to help identify potential innovations that stem from academic research, teaching and service activities, as well as to provide the resources and the guidance necessary to make a pathway to commercialization possible,” Grattan said.
The center supports ventures in a variety of research disciplines including but not limited to:
- Climate and environmental science research
- Biomedical science and biotechnology
- Forensic sciences and cybersecurity
- Advanced data analytics
- Engineering and applied science
- Homeland security and defense
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