We see universities as places where people are trained to provide manpower for various industries. Actually, universities have another role, research, which also can help industries. Many of the research findings that emerge in university labs might have practical applications.
For the practical applications to materialize, however, the technology should be applied to produce things that have a market. In addition, the technology needs to be transferred from labs into production floors. This typically involves scaling up the lab processes into full-fledged production processes.
Applying new technology to develop marketable products, and the engineering involved in scaling up lab operations to production operations, is basically what we call as commercialization of technology.
In Connecticut, schools are working with state and industry officials to create incubator programs for businesses in the high technology areas such as biotechnology that can, for example, help develop more effective treatments for diseases.
An example is the University of Bridgeport that has the largest engineering school in the state. Its faculty and students are involved in major research projects, such as a project to develop unmanned aerial vehicles for the army.
The University has now joined Connecticut Innovations Inc. (CII), the state’s quasi-public authority for technology investing and innovation development, to set up CTech IncUBator that has begun accepting applications from hopeful entrepreneurs.
Read the full report at conntact.com.
