This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project--a Type III (A:C) partnership between University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), an NSF PFI graduate (0438617), and Johns Hopkins University (JHU), an institution new to the PFI Program (defined as one that has never been a PFI grantee)--seeks to create the first applied entrepreneurial training program focused on meeting the special needs of post doctoral fellows (postdocs) in federal laboratories. With 10% of all postdocs in the U.S. working in Maryland, these highly-trained scientists are a valuable, yet untapped, resource for economic development in the region. The ACTiVATE at NIH program will build on the success of the original ACTiVATE (Achieving the Commercialization of Technology in Ventures through Applied Training for Entrepreneurs) program at UMBC. While the original program was focused on training mid-career women to commercialize technologies from universities and federal labs in the State of Maryland, the ACTiVATE at NIH program focuses on training postdocs in their final year to start companies based on technologies from the National Institutions of Health (NIH). Following the proven ACTiVATE model, postdocs will partner with individuals from the business community to select technologies identified and screened from the NIH Office of Technology Transfer. These individuals will follow a year long, applied training program, customized to address the specific needs of postdocs. The goal of the program is to start 10-12 technology-based companies in Maryland, and train 45 postdocs and 45 business people to commercialize technologies from NIH. The Program will extend to significant numbers of postdocs awareness of, and information about, entrepreneurship opportunities in technology fields. The training will take a learn-by-doing approach that can be disseminated to, and replicated at, other federal labs in other regions of the country
The ACTiVATE at NIH program will provide a model for teaching scientists to work with business people and commercialize innovations from their own laboratories that can be used at other research institutions across the country and in other parts of the world. The formation of new ventures will create wealth, build the regional economy, and provide new products that will improve the national well-being. At the same time, the program will demonstrate to postdocs across the country that entrepreneurial careers are a viable alternative to academia. The ACTiVATE at NIH program will increase the number of university start-ups in Maryland, and innovations from NIH and other federal labs will be commercialized. Through a partnership with JHU's Carey Business School, the ACTiVATE at NIH program will be studied and modified so it can evolve into a program that could be offered by prestigious business schools in a way that would complement their traditional offerings.
Partners at the inception of the project are Academic Institutions: University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) (lead institution), Johns Hopkins University (JHU)(Carey Business School), Montgomery College (Montgomery County Community College), and George Mason University; Private Sector Organizations: Human Workflows, LLC and Rockville Economic Development, Inc.; Local and Federal Governmental Organizations: Incubator Network of Montgomery County and NIH-Office of Technology Transfer.
