ACTiVATE at NIH Program - INNoVATE™
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Tech. Center, Office of Tech. Dev., Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship
PI: Greg Simmons Co PIs: Vivian Armor; Stephen Auvil; David Fink, Ph.D; Ellen Hemmerly
Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School
Subcontract PI: Cherie Nichols
NSF Award: #IIP-0917985
3 Year Award
Start Date: 1 August 2009
Key Attributes of our
Innovation Ecosystem:
Questioning & Curiosity:
We were curious to know if we could duplicate the
successful ACTiVATE® model in a different region and
adapt it for another group underrepresented in
entrepreneurship. The INNoVATE™ project will help us
address this curiosity.
Brief Project Overview:
Risk Taking:
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has partnered with the Johns Hopkins
University Carey Business School (JHU) and others to develop the INNoVATE™ program – an applied
entrepreneurial training and support program focused on starting companies based on technologies
developed at regional federal laboratories and universities. The INNoVATE™ program builds on the success
of the internationally recognized ACTiVATE® program, which was developed by UMBC under a previous PFI
award. While the ACTiVATE® program was specifically focused on training mid-career women to
commercialize technologies from universities in the State of Maryland, the INNoVATE™ program focuses on
training post-doctoral fellows (postdocs) in the final year of their fellowship to start companies based on
technologies from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal labs in Maryland. Following the
program model, postdocs partner with individuals from the business community and select technologies that
have been identified and screened from regional technology transfer offices. These individuals follow a
yearlong, applied training program, which has been designed to address the specific needs of postdocs. In
addition to lectures, guest speakers, and project work, the training includes mentoring, access to advisor
networks, and access to other resources in the region that are valuable to entrepreneurs. The INNoVATE™
program will generate a community of well-trained entrepreneurs that will foster economic development and
technology transfer activities. The program also provides new career opportunities for postdocs, who often
need to consider alternative career paths after completing their fellowships. The goal of the program during
its first three years is to train 45 postdocs and 45 business people to commercialize technologies from the
NIH and other regional federal labs and to start 10-12 technology-based companies in Maryland.
Program Activities:
NIH
300-400
Post-Docs
Johns Hopkins University
Human
Workflows
15-20
Technologies
Program
Management
15
Business
People
Orientation
Program 15
Part
I
Part
II
Postdocs
Advisor
Network
Phase I:
Project Selection &
Feasibility
40-60
Advisors
INNOVATE™ Program
3 Instructors
Materials/Know-How
Program Management
ACTiVATE@UMBC
I. Preparing for INNoVATE™
II. Technology & Applications
III. Building a Team
IV. Identifying the Market
V. Assessing Feasibility
FEASIBILITY PRESENTATION
Incubator
Program
EiR & Other
Support
Phase III
INNoVATE™ Program Model
The INNoVATE™ program consists of two phases of
formal training and post-training support activities
(Phase III). Formal classes take place one evening a
week (2.5 hours) and one Saturday a month (4-8 hrs).
Classes began March 4, 2010 and will continue until
January 2011 with a break during the summer between
phases. The course will be run for three years under
the current PFI award and will be sustained thereafter
with fees, sponsorships, and other support.
Partners:
VI. Organization & Licensing
VII. Marketing & Operations
VIII.Financing Strategy
IX. Developing Financials
X. Preparing the Presentation
FINAL PRESENTATION
Phase III:
Business/Project
Support
Post-course activities include:
corporate formation, technology
licensing, fundraising, business
development , operations,
networking, & community
building among graduates.
INNoVATE™ Inaugural
Class of 2010
Collaboration Across Fields:
1. Matching technologies with participant teams
3. Early-stage financing for start-up companies
Top Contributions/
Outcomes:
1. Start 10 – 12 technology-based companies in MD
2. Train 90 people (45 postdocs) as entrepreneurs
3. Evaluate the commercial opportunity for 45 – 60
federal technologies
UMBC approached the Johns Hopkins University Carey
Business School (JHU) as a partner for the
INNoVATE™ program. While JHU has many wellestablished educational programs, the INNoVATE™
program, which is a non-credit course focused on
economic development outcomes, is not typical of their
offerings. JHU will examine best practices developed
as part of this project and hopes to be able to enhance
its for-credit offerings with knowledge developed from
the INNoVATE™ program.
Leading/Inspiring of Surprising or
Unexpected Results
Top
Challenges:
2. Licensing technologies from universities & federal labs
PFI
Since one of the goals of the INNoVATE™ program is
to start new companies, we are open to modifying our
program model to accommodate the needs of the
participants. Examples include remaining flexible in the
course structure so it can be adapted to meet the
needs of the participants and allowing participants to
bring in their own inventions as projects for the course.
Placing Partners in “New
Environments” & “Playgrounds”:
Phase II:
Business Plan
Development
New
Companies
Openness:
The INNoVATE™ program is based on an
interdisciplinary approach to economic development.
The collaborative model includes contributions from the
fields of technology transfer, entrepreneurship
education, and business incubation. It also brings
together inventors and scientists from many disciplines
in academia and government with entrepreneurs,
investors, and others from the business community.
Course Outline
Montgomery
County ED/REDI
Consistent with any entrepreneurial project, risk taking
is an inherent component of the INNoVATE™ program.
This is especially true of the participating postdocs, who
must assume the risk of working outside of their area of
expertise, i.e., in a business environment rather than a
lab, in addition to the typical risks associated with
forming a new technology-based company.
.
The INNoVATE™ program started in early 2010, so we
have not yet had the opportunity to see a full spectrum
of results.
We have, however, been pleasantly
surprised by the enthusiasm of the people that applied
for the program. Their enthusiasm is indicative of a
need in our region for entrepreneurship training and
support. We are hopeful that the INNoVATE™ program
in Montgomery County, and its counterpart, the
ACTiVATE® program in Baltimore County, will help to
address this need and leverage the technology
resources in this region to foster more technologybased economic development in the State of Maryland.
National Science Foundation Partnerships For Innovation
Grantee’s Meeting April 25-27, 2010
Arlington, VA
.
.