One of the primary outreach initiatives of UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is the new Innovation Accelerator (IA), which assists entrepreneurial ventures in addressing myriad challenges associated with the identification and capture of business opportunities. The IA, supported with State funding, enhances UConn’s offerings in the entrepreneurship field and builds an academic/industry partnership to further foster the entrepreneurial culture in the state. The IA utilizes interdisciplinary project teams comprised of graduate students that innovatively solve complex business issues for Connecticut’s technology-based entrepreneurial ventures.
All projects operate under the guidance of UConn faculty, with the involvement of the senior management of the participating venture, and the advice of the IA’s Solutions Advisory Board. The teams help move innovation forward and the client venture closer to market by engaging in consulting projects such as:
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- performing comprehensive market analyses and associated market-entry strategies;
- developing strategic roadmaps and sustainable business models;
- evaluating the market feasibility of emerging technologies; and
- constructing customer relationship strategies
Types of Project Engagements
Projects are selected by the IA Steering Committee on the basis of both company and educational impact, as well as the expertise/competencies available during a particular IA session. Depending on project scope, the IA will typically engage with 3-5 clients in each of three 13 week sessions (spring, summer and fall semesters). There are no pre-defined limitations relative to the specific technology sector within which the venture operates or the type of projects undertaken. However, all engagements will focus on business challenges of the entrepreneurial venture and not on engineering aspects of product development.
Overview of the Innovation Accelerator Project Process
An initial scoping document is developed outlining the venture’s initial opportunity/problem statement, the project goals, and the deliverables. The initial scoping document is written by the faculty advisors in conjunction with the venture’s management. This scoping document serves as the Project Charter. An agreement is signed by the IA and the entrepreneurial venture outlining the responsibilities of the each party. This agreement also contains non-disclosure clauses to ensure confidentiality of the venture’s intellectual property. The project teams are comprised of 3 to 5 students, with one or two additional faculty mentors with industry/venture experience. Most team members are MBA students, again with industry experience - others might be PhD students with specialized knowledge and skill sets in engineering, the sciences, or other complementary technologies/disciplines. Projects timelines coincide with each academic semester. They begin with an initial client meeting, and end with delivery of the Project Charter deliverables to the venture’s senior management team. During the course of the semester, each team member is expected to work an average 35-40 hours per week (in addition to their other academic requirements). There are weekly conference calls scheduled with venture management to keep management apprised of the team’s progress and provide a forum for regular interchange.
Inquiries
For more information, please email
InnovationAccelerator@business.uconn.edu and we will get back to you for further discussions.
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| An initiative of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CCEI) |
