Innovation! Entrepreneurship! Many believe they are the twin pillars of the U.S. economy in the 21st-century war of global competition. President Barack Obama declares that we must "out-innovate" the rest of the world. Gov. Rick Perry demands that we boost entrepreneurship. But who is going to take the lead role in this new mission? Who will convert rhetoric into action? It will be the great American universities, as part of regional innovation ecosystems comprising entities such as research and development laboratories, business incubators and accelerators, entrepreneurial training programs, venture capital networks and, ultimately, research parks with co-located startup companies. Public-private partnerships will be the glue binding everyone together.
But this ecosystem model, founded on universities as the engines of innovation and the source of new entrepreneurs, is under attack. Pundits say the process of translating research discoveries into commercial products is flawed and should be revamped, even to the point of questioning the value of research at our universities. These doubts have been fed for the most part by misconceptions or myths about the current innovation ecosystem. Let's examine four of the myths surrounding the commercialization of university research and perform a reality check.
To read the full, original article click on this link: UT as tech engine: myth and reality
Author: Keith McDowell
