entrepreneurship

To better serve all parts of the state by connecting experienced mentors with startup companies, the Kentucky Innovation Network has a new name and logo, a tighter focus, and expanded services. Established in 2002 as the Innovation and Commercialization Center program, the Kentucky Innovation Network will offer services to entrepreneurs from 13 locations across the state, and as part of the re-branding effort, three smaller centers will be upgraded to full-service centers.

With their vast knowledge about technology and access to expertise inside and outside the university, graduate and post doctoral students play an important role in helping spinoff successful companies. Moreover, universities should encourage students to explore entrepreneurship through spinoffs as a potential career option outside of academia. This recommendation is among three guidelines outlined in a recent report that examines the important roles of students and faculty in the university technology transfer process.

The Obama administration today announced the 12 winners of the multi-agency Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. Approximately $9 million in federal funding will help support rural public-private partnerships to promote job creation, accelerate innovation and provide assistance to entrepreneurs and businesses in a wide range of industrial sectors in rural regions across the country.

With veteran unemployment rates exceeding the already-high national unemployment rate, organizations and agencies around the country are seeking ways to plug veterans into the innovation economy. These efforts capitalize on the leadership skills and technical knowledge of military veterans by helping them become entrepreneurs. Operation Boots to Business is a new nationwide initiative, backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), that will provide entrepreneurship training courses at military bases to help veterans transition into business ownership.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has signed off on a series of bills intended to give state-owned universities more flexibility in working with regional businesses and creating new advanced degree programs. The bills are collectively known as the Higher Education Modernization Act and apply specifically to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), which is the nation's tenth largest state university system, incorporating Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned institutions.

Foreign-born inventors and entrepreneurs play a vital role in the U.S. innovation economy, yet these individuals face many obstacles if they wish to remain in the country. Last year, more than three-quarters of all patents at the top ten patent-producing universities had at least one foreign-born inventor, according to report from the Partnership for a New American Economy. The report lays out several policy changes that could help the country retain more foreign-born innovators trained at U.S.

U.S. immigration policies are irrational and undirected according to a new report from the Partnership for a New American Economy and Partnership for New York City — Not Coming To America: Why the U.S. is Falling Behind in the Global Race for Talent. In sharp contrast, to attract immigrants that drive economic growth and increase international competitiveness, foreign countries have adopted targeted and strategic policies that include:

Northeast Ohio's Lorain County Community College (LCCC) plans to bring its unique approach to entrepreneur assistance to other parts of the country with support from the Kauffman Foundation. On Thursday, LCCC announced a $1 million grant from Kauffman would help establish pilot versions of the community college's Innovation Fund in three U.S. communities. The current Innovation Fund provides entrepreneurship education, mentoring and early stage funding for the region's startups.

Michigan State University (MSU) launched Spartan Innovations, a newly formed subsidiary of the MSU Foundation, to help its faculty and students form spin-off companies based on technology developed at the university. To achieve this goal, it will provide five key resources to increase the MSU startups including:

As global economies shift, developing nations are attempting to transition as suppliers of raw materials to nations that are producers of value-added goods. Africa has been a major supplier of raw materials to the developed world. However, it drastically lagged behind in the production of valued-added goods. Recently, African nations have attempted to reinvent their economic development efforts from suppliers to producers by developing programs to grow tech-based economies.