Research, Service and Partnership

How Universities Promote Economic Development

Core Responsibilities of Universities

• Education/Learning• Innovation/Discovery• Knowledge Transfer• Community Engagement

Transition of Knowledge into Practice

• Students with technical and business skills moving from the university to the private sector.

• Publication of research results in academic journals – freely available to all sectors.

• Interactions between university scientists and scholars and private sector – professional meetings, conferences

Transition of Knowledge into Practice

• Industry sponsored research/service projects (public-private partnership)

• Individual faculty/student consulting arrangements with private sector firms

• Entrepreneurial activity by faculty and students occurring outside university

• Licensing of University Intellectual Property (IP) to start-ups or established companies

Knowledge Based University Activities Related to Economic Development

• Conducting basic and applied research – drives new product development, aids development of new companies and creation of new jobs

– “Research is the transformation of money into knowledge. Innovation is the transformation of knowledge into money” (G. Nicholson)

• Conducting economic and social research – enables region to identify strategic assets; assessment of market needs and opportunities for economic development

Knowledge Based University Activities Related to Economic Development

• Providing workforce assessments, workforce development and continuing education programs

• Commercializing University IP• Establishing programs fostering economic

development and entrepreneurship– University based business incubators– University sponsored business accelerators

How does ETSU Contribute to Economic Development?

• Overall economic impact of university budget• Research programs• Undergraduate, graduate and professional programs• Business consulting • Entrepreneurship activities

– Innovation Laboratory– AccelNow– TSBDC

• Technology transfer

ETSU Impact on Local Economy (2011)

• More than 15,000 students• ETSU’s employment impact – 5,261 jobs• Total impact on region’s economy (output) –

– $683M

ETSU Sponsored Program External Support Research/Service/Instruction

• Research and Service expenditures (FY12):– $44,443,506

• Instruction– $5,222,867

• Total expenditures: $49,663,373• Multiplier factor: 1.68• Total regional impact of sponsored programs:

– $74,754,540

Educational Programs

• Undergraduate/Graduate/Professional– Both STEM and non-STEM – Chemistry and Computer Science – Eastman and

Siemens– Nursing – Mountain State Health Alliance and

Wellmont Health Systems– PharmD – regional pharmacies– MD – local communities and practice groups

Business Consulting

• Faculty– Regional and national business entities, including

a variety of companies: pharmaceutical and medical device ; software development

• Students– College of Business and Technology– Entrepreneurship – Strategic Experience

Business Consulting

• Students – Strategic Experience Course– More than 50 consulting clients served in the last

decade– Projects:

• Strategic planning• Business plans• Marketing assessment• Total quality management plans

Business Consulting

• Students – Strategic Experience Course– Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (BTES)

• Business plan for new customer service – fiber to home• Strategic Technology plan for BTES Broadband Business

Unit• Strategic plan for Smart Power Grid Control Platform for

Closed-Loop energy Demand System – facilitated collaboration between BTES and ECS and award of DOE SBIR grant to ECS

Business Consulting

• Students – Strategic Experience Course

– BCS-BTES-ETSU• Strategic Marketing Plan facilitated the award of Phase

II SBIR grant to ECS• ECS to market software to power companies

throughout TN and the US and create new jobs in the region

Activities Supporting Entrepreneurship

• ETSU Innovation Laboratory and ETSU Valleybrook Campus

• AccelNow• TSBDC

ETSU Innovation Laboratory

• Business Incubator

Mission -To partner with entrepreneurs and investors to affect the successful establishment of technology-based start-up and spin-off companies in order to achieve technology transfer, create jobs, and enhance economic development within the region.

ETSU Innovation Laboratory

• Office space• Dry laboratories• Wet laboratories• Support services• Conference facilities, including video

conferencing• >14,000 sq. ft.

ETSU Innovation Laboratory

• Major tenants– Yasoo Health, Inc.– Renewable Algal Energy (RAE)– Microbac TCD

• Successful graduate – BANC Intranet• Average salary of tenant employees 60%

greater than median salary for the region

ETSU Valleybrook Campus

• Office space and wet laboratories (14 large labs) available for lease by start ups

• Conference facilities available• Current tenants

– Biocorp, LLC– Advanced Catalysis– ETSU faculty

• Innovation Lab and Valleybrook provide the only laboratories for commercial use east of Knoxville

AccelNow

• ETSU Business Accelerator• Vision – promote economic development and job

creation in the region• Provides free and low cost programs and services to

entrepreneurs in the eight county Northeast TN region to help create “scalable” companies,

• Successes:– Private capital and federal funding received by accelerator

companies - $1.6M– 4 companies accelerated

Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC)

• Economic development outreach program of the College of Business and Technology since 1984

• Funded by the Small Business Administration• Mission

– to be the premier provider of quality solutions to potential and existing small businesses’ needs through consultation, education, referral, and support services. By providing these services, the TSBDC promotes growth and prosperity in the domestic and international markets of the business community and enhances its economic impact on the State of Tennessee. (Lifestyle companies)

Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC)

• In 2012 TSBDC – Consulted with 218 clients– Activities led to the creation of 110 new jobs and

retention of 8 jobs– Assisted clients in generating more than $11M in

new capital for start-up or expansion of existing businesses.

Technology Transfer

• ETSU IP managed by the ETSU Research Foundation

• Nine patents granted to ETSURF, one patent application under review

• Four patents currently licensed– Three licensed to companies outside the region– One licensed to local entity– First commercialized patent to generate potentially

significant income in 2013

Future Role of ETSU in Fostering Economic Development

• Continue support for major programs with direct impact on regional economic development

• Develop marketing plans for attracting companies outside the region to establish start up companies requiring laboratory space.

• Pursue partnerships with the major business sectors in the region to address specific educational, research or service needs. (Recommendation from 125 Task Force)

Future Role of ETSU in Fostering Economic Development

• Become a significant player in the regional economy, not only as a provider of higher education, but as a major partner in its economic development. (Opportunity identified by the 125 Task Force on Extramural Resources, Sponsored Programs and Initiatives: Research, Service and Instruction).

Transfer of knowledge to individuals in society contributes to economic development through worker training, management counseling, help for start- up companies, etc.