A common narrative at universities like S&T is that innovation is needed for any company or institution to remain competitive. As you read this newsletter, you will see wonderful examples of how S&T students and faculty innovate.
We love to hear of faculty working with students on research that results in inventions that are patented at S&T, then licensed to companies that provide goods or services that improve lives. This is the path of technology we often encourage and we celebrate those successes. We also tout the accomplishments of our graduates as they advance technological innovation while on the job as companies compete in the marketplace.
Here, I'd like to emphasize that while those two routes of innovation are laudable, there are many alternative "innovations in innovation." For example, larger companies invest in their own Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) to create entrepreneurial ecosystems of their own.
They also increasingly rely on mergers and acquisitions to advance new technology. Intellectual property is a complex strategic factor for competition at all scales. This means that startups coming out of a university like S&T may ultimately need to acquire external IP licenses to create an adequate protective barrier to competition. So, please don't be a victim of the "not-invented-here" disease if the opportunities are otherwise outstanding!
Finally, to our fledgling S&T entrepreneurs, I want to emphasize that many of our most successful alumni are entrepreneurs who were previously long-time employees of large companies who identified a problem and ventured-out on their own to innovate. This is the path currently being pursued by our Entrepreneurial Student Society where students perform local project consulting and identify problems that could become future entrepreneurial opportunities.
At Kummer College, we are excited to teach, research and implement the innovation of innovation.
