UConn’s broad proposal to boost Connecticut’s economy by dramatically boosting faculty-led innovation is going forward, with key committees approving its details on Wednesday and forwarding it to the full Board of Trustees.
The “Innovation Faculty Hires & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative” was developed by UConn as a pathway to increase tech transfer, entrepreneurship, and innovation by conducting research that results in new patents, firms, licenses, and technologies.
As a result, Connecticut’s economy grows, and the state’s image as an entrepreneurship powerhouse is cemented, with new businesses and jobs, new technology in vital sectors like clean energy and genomics, and inventions that lay the groundwork for future breakthroughs.
Over the next five years, UConn plans to hire ten “innovation faculty” members, each with a track record of entrepreneurship in a specific field, as well as the resources they’ll need to advance their careers, such as postdoctoral researchers, lab equipment, specialized scientific instruments, and other requirements.
UConn will cast a wide net in its search for individuals who are not strictly academics, but whose qualities complement and add meaningfully to UConn’s purpose and the work of their fellow faculty members.
Original Source: UConn Moving Forward on Bold ‘Innovation Faculty’ Plan to Bolster Entrepreneurialism, Grow State’s Economy – UConn Today
