UTSA program is seeking to foster technology start-ups
BYLINE: Catherine Dominguez
Cory Hallam of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is intent on making the educational institution a breeding ground for new technology entrepreneurs.
Hallam is the director of UTSA's new Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (CITE). The center serves students, faculty and businesses with the goal of creating a pipeline of entrepreneurs for the technology industry. The new CITE is a collaborative effort between UTSA's College of Engineering and its College of Business.
"Not a lot of (technology) companies have spun off from UTSA," Hallam explains. "That pipeline doesn't exist."
Dr. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D., dean of UTSA's College of Engineering, says the goal of the CITE is to commercialize products or technologies developed through university teaching and research efforts and to create locally based tech companies.
"Bottom line is, for a technology to really make a difference, it has to go through commercialization," Agrawal says.
Agrawal says in the past, commercializing technologies or products in academic circles was not popular; however, he says doing so just makes sense.
"We are trying to change that (thinking)," he says. "Instead of training people later on (how to commercialize products), why don't we do it while they are still students."
Up for the challenge
Hallam, who came to UTSA last year, is no stranger to technology higher education. Hallam has earned a Ph.D. in technology management and policy, a master of science in technology and policy, and a master of engineering in aeronautics and astronautics -- all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
He has worked in the telecommunications and aerospace industries as an engineer and program manager. In addition, Hallam headed the design and development of MIT's Aeronautics and Astronautics Learning Labs, an integrated effort aimed at linking curriculum, teaching styles, learning styles and facilities into an new style of learning environment.
"Cory is a great addition to the UTSA staff," says Jim Poage, president and CEO of the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative (SATAI). "He adds an array of business and technical perspective to entrepreneurship. And that is exactly the right skill set needed to teach young entrepreneurs."
Although the CITE officially got its start this year, the center did have a test run last fall that resulted in a group of students designing a medical device to be used in intubations. Intubation is the procedure of inserting a tube into a person's trachea to assist them with breathing.
In fact, Hallam says the team has submitted the device to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
"(The test run) showed us it can work," Hallam says.
This semester, the CITE has four student teams and Hallam has a goal to produce at least two start-up companies a year. Each team consists of three engineering students and one business student.
Hallam says CITE is focused on four elements that are the foundation of a technology venture. They are education, experiences, resources and support.
Education focuses on the basic building blocks of entrepreneurship. Through coursework, hands-on activities, projects and internships, CITE creates experiences to help "unlock the inner entrepreneur" in the students, Hallam says.
The CITE will also coordinate resources for supporting early venture start-ups within the university and then help the start-up effort secure funding support outside the academic sector.
Hallam says CITE will work through many local organizations, including SATAI, to bring products and companies to fruition. SATAI is a technology commercialization center that assists researchers, inventors, entrepreneurs and other companies in turning their innovations into enterprises.
Poage says the CITE is a great opportunity for those people who have the goal to be entrepreneurs.
"We are looking for a very close collaboration here," Poage says.
One of SATAI's key roles will be to help start-up ventures from the university get the investment funding needed to develop prototypes, business plans and then build a staff.
Healthy competition
The goal for the CITE doesn't stop at just bringing students together to foster entrepreneurship at UTSA. Hallam and Agrawal hope to eventually create an entrepreneurial competition between students at UTSA and other universities and colleges in San Antonio as well.
"We would like to grow the concept to more teams and a competition," Agrawal says. "We would have local venture capitalists and angel investors be the judges and have some monetary prizes."
Agrawal adds the competition could be a great incentive to encourage students to develop worthwhile ideas and products.
"Instead of having the students do it for just a grade, it will be for some monetary award," he says. "That gets the juices flowing even more. It is my hope that one of these ideas sparks interest in the investors and starts a company."
Hallam says he also is looking to establish a pre-seed fund at the university to help foster start-ups out of the school and maybe even house them on campus for a year to 18 months.
Although not all the student teams will lead to new companies, Hallam says he wants to make sure that those who have the drive to build a company have the tools they need to do so. He adds this also is a great way to put UTSA on the map as a school focused on producing entrepreneurs.
"I don't expect all the teams to start a company, but I expect one or two to be risk takers," Hallam says. "My vision is to sell UTSA as a school for technology entrepreneurs."
Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship
What: Serves students, faculty and businesses to create a pipeline for generating entrepreneurs focused on the technology industry Director: Cory Hallam Where: The University of Texas at San Antonio Web site: http://business.utsa.edu/entrepreneur