Entrepreneurial
Programs at Kansas
State University
Ike Ehie, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
College of Business
Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas
Entrepreneurial Programs
• College-Wide Programs
• University-Wide Programs
Undergraduate
Entrepreneurship Courses
• Entrepreneurship
– Provides students with broad understanding of
the fields of entrepreneurship and new venture
creation
– Project-oriented course where students explore
all phases of new venture creation process
from idea conception to start-up to planning to
assessment
– Course facilitates networking with
entrepreneurs and small business owners
through guest speaking and company tours
Undergraduate EP Courses
• Small Business Consulting
– Course offers students an opportunity to work
in teams with real small businesses in the local
communities to learn more about small
business management and new venture startups
– Course covers both operational and strategic
issues of small business
– Students embark on starting up a new
business venture in partnership with a local
business
Graduate EP Courses
• Advanced Entrepreneurship
– Course is designed as an in-depth examination
of the nature of entrepreaurship, especially the
factors that contribute to the success and
failure of new venture planning and
implementation
– Topics covered include:
•
•
•
•
Business planning and analysis process
Financial and market analysis
Management structure
Marketing and selling
– Learning culminate with the preparation of a
comprehensive business plan for the
development and marketing of a new product
or service
Graduate EP Courses
• Technology Entrepreneurship and Strategy
– The course brings together technology
creation, protection and commercialization in a
highly synergistic and creative experience for
graduate students
– Covers technology from information to
telecommunication, and from biotechnology to
agro-economics
– Covers the “ins” and “outs’ of intellectual
property acquisitions, business creations and
protection, and unique issues related to high
technology start-ups
Graduate EP Courses
• MBA Entrepreneurship Interns
– Business interns rotated among the
three KSU research triangle (KSU,
KSURF, and MACC)
– Provides students with real-life
experience on technology start-ups.
Entrepreneurial Universities
Fueling Economic Development
• University Roles in Creating Economic
Opportunity
– Pivotal for technology-based initiatives
• Regional: Research Triangle Park, Silicon Valley, etc.
• Local: San Diego, Pittsburgh, Boston, etc.
– Provides new technologies for economic
exploitation
– Provides the requisite human resources
• Faculty: scientific, technical, and business expertise
• Students, graduates, and trainees: skilled employees
• Expanded Role in the New Economy
– Small technology-based companies – more
important
– Fortune 500 companies – less important
Partnerships for Innovation
Comprehensive Intellectual Property Services
KSU
KSURF
Graduate Interns
MACC
TADAC
Discovery/Creation
Protection
Commercialization
(Research/Scholarly Activity)
and
(Management and Licensing)
Licensing
Established
Companies
Start-up
Companies
Partnerships for Innovation
Comprehensive Intellectual Property Services
KSU
KSURF
MACC
COB
Business Faculty
Graduate Research Assistants
Fostering Outreach to the Private Sector
• Building Alliances with Relevant Industries
– Sponsored projects and cooperative
agreements
– Licensing university intellectual property
– Acquiring private-sector intellectual property
– Responding to advanced education needs
– Consulting, research exchanges, internships,
etc.
• Engaging in Technology Development
– Facilitating SBIR and STTR initiatives
– Pursuing local start-ups;
independently/cooperatively
K-State Entrepreneurial Efforts
Evolving Start-up Companies
• NanoScale Materials, Inc.
– Proprietary reactive nanoparticle technologies
• Destructive adsorption of hazardous agents
• AgRenew, Inc.
– Environmentally superior ag value-added products
• Biodegradable/edible barrels and de-icing materials
• Nacelle Therapeutics, Inc.
– Breakthrough treatment for cystic fibrosis
• Proprietary ion channel-forming peptide technology
• Kansas Advanced Technologies (KATS), LLC
– A general technology development company
• NutriJoy, Inc.
– Cal-C – a calcium and vitamin C beverage available
in 4 flavors
Kansas Entrepreneurial
Center
Cal-C
• A calcium-rich,
vitamin C
supplemented
beverage available in
4 flavors
• Determine to have
good bone intensity
for pre- and postmenopausal women
NanoScale Materials, Inc
• Technology developed
by KSU Chemistry
Professor
• Produces reactive
nonparticles with
broad applications in
environmental
remediation and
detoxification of
hazardous chemical
and biological agents