IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - September 2020 - 68

Entrepreneur Viewpoint

by Issa Batarseh

Academic Entrepreneurship:
The NSF I-Corps Program

oday, the prosperity of any
nation and its level of competitiveness are measured by
its ability to create economic value
through a powerful engine of innovation, fueled by scientific research and
technological advances. The realization that entrepreneurship is the key
enabler for technological innovation
is now in the minds of politicians,
strategists, and business leaders
alike. In order to maintain a competitive edge, the engines of innovation
must continue to run. Entrepreneurs
provide the sparks that set these
engines in motion. Facing fierce economic competition, almost every
nation around the globe is looking for
ways to stimulate their citizens to
produce more innovations and creativity. This is why over the last two
decades, we have witnessed a continuous increase in the number of entrepreneurship programs developed by
industries, universities, organizations, and cities throughout the globe.
One sector that plays a major role
in developing and maintaining an innovation ecosystem is education.
Higher education institutions provide fertile zones where significant
amounts of ground-breaking research
take place across many disciplines.
Many academic institutions are successful in developing an entrepreneurial-based ecosystem because
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPEL.2020.3011303
Date of current version: 15 September 2020

IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE

they realize that the quality of education along with faculty and student
excellence are the basis for academic
innovation. The lasting value of a university is measured by its sustained
impact on society. Today, numerous
programs are focused on ways to
strengthen academic technological
innovation by increasing networking
activities between the inventors, students, administrators, and industry
and venture capital funds to enhance
the institutions' economic impact on
society. Many of the spin-offs that are
coming out of university laboratories
are typically at the cutting edge of
technology and have the potential to
create major technological disruptions. Consequently, it is hard to find
any strategic plan from higher education that doesn't mention an innovation ecosystem, technology transfer
and academic entrepreneurship.
Globally, competitive universities
are fiercely fighting to be in the forefront of academic innovation as they
realize the need to infuse inventive
culture in the minds of their leadership, faculty and students. This is
what we call Academic Entrepreneurship, where faculty and students in collaboration with industry,
start acting like entrepreneurs. After
all, it is a place rich with talented
educators, resea rchers, a nd students. These scholars thrive in an
environment that fosters competitiveness, unrestrained scientific inquiry and creativity.

z September 2020

As faculty members, we already
have entrepreneur-like characteristics. For instance, we formulate
research ideas, raise research funds,
execute R&D and then go directly to
customers at the conferences who
evaluate and buy-in to our research
findings. Of course we have certain
constraints, complicated challenges
and conflict of interest issues that
have to be navigated prior to making
the decision to dive into business. Despite the pressures of academia, some
of you might decide to pursue the option of exploring business opportunities to commercialize your research
efforts and dive into the world of entrepreneurship. If you do not wish to start
your own company, faculty members
may pursue filing patents to protect
their findings and work with the office of University Technology Transfer
(TTO) to set up licensing agreements.
There has been a steady increase in
placing more importance on the startup component of innovation than on
seeking the licensing option.

The Challenge: Engineering
Faculty as Entrepreneurs
But still the fact remains that academic entrepreneurship is a complex,
challenging and highly competitive
process that requires a great deal of
engagement and ecosystem support.
Stepping beyond one's teachingresearch comfort zone to become an
entrepreneur is not a simple transition
and not everyone is ready to do that.

IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - September 2020

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