Monday, May 28, 2012

The ACTiVATE® Program

The ACTiVATE® program is a yearlong, applied entrepreneurship training and support program that is focused on starting companies using technologies from universities and federal laboratories.

The first ACTiVATE® program was developed in 2005 by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with support from the National Science Foundation's Partnerships for Innovation program.

The UMBC program has been very successful and has been recognized nationally and internationally as a best practice for entrepreneurship training, technology transfer, and economic development.

ACTiVATE® is a year-long program to train women with significant technical or business experience to be entrepreneurs and to create start-up companies from inventions from Maryland research institutions and federal agencies. Admission to the program is competitive. Although the application process for the class of 2009 is closed, it is not too early to get on the list to receive information about the 2010 application process. Click here to request more information.

The new program, called “ACTiVATE® at NIH”, will be a yearlong training and support program focused on starting companies based on early-stage technologies developed at the NIH and other federal labs in the region. Postdocs and other individuals from the business community who want to partner with a scientist to start a company will be recruited for the program.

The ACTiVATE® model pairs these individuals – one scientist and one business person – and asks the team to select either a pre-screened technology or the scientist's own technology to serve as a project for the program. Through weekly lectures and the practical experience of working on their projects, the team will learn how to evaluate the technology, develop a business plan, and actually start a company. The applied learning process will be conducted in a supportive environment led by a team of experienced instructors who have started their own technology-based companies and others from the business community who will serve as project advisors and guest lecturers.

The goal of the program is to form new companies in Montgomery County and to retain in the state some of the very talented postdocs after they complete their fellowships in area laboratories.

Source: http://www.umbc.edu/activate/
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