Commissioner
Nena Ellis, Director of Marketing and Communications for Invent Penn State
Recommended Course(s)
English 202C, 202D
Assignment
Invent Penn State publishes annual magazines that profile the Businesses assisted by the Happy Valley Launchbox and the Technologies whose intellectual property Invent Penn State helped to develop. This Commissioned Assignment will allow students to compose one-page profiles of Businesses and Technologies.
The Business Profiles consist of a business summary, a description of the customer problem that necessitates the business’s creation, and explanations of the product or service offered, the business’s value proposition, intellectual property, and market competition. Students will have the opportunity to meet with the business creator(s) to discuss their experience with the Launchbox and to gather the necessary information for composing the Profile.
The Technology Profiles consist of a technology summary, a description of the technology’s application and market utility, information on patent status and licensing, and an explanation of the next steps in bringing the technology to market. Students will have the opportunity to meet with the researchers/inventors of the technology as well as the technology licensing officer as they work to understand the invention and gather all of the information necessary for composing the Profile.
Background
Invent Penn State is a Pennsylvania-wide economic development initiative inspired by President Barron’s acknowledgment that PA communities struggle to hold onto Penn State alums who develop business start-ups and inventions in PA but end up moving to new locations to bring their products and services to the market. Invent Penn State counteracts this struggle by driving job creation, economic development, and student career success by connecting researchers with the people who can help bring their discoveries to the marketplace in PA. Invent Penn State leverages Penn State’s research, knowledge, and entrepreneurial spirit in collaboration amongst industry, entrepreneurs, and academia to develop products and services that will benefit Pennsylvanians and humankind.
Two initiatives of Invent Penn State are pertinent to this project. The first is a Business Accelerator Program called Happy Valley Launchbox. This competitive program selects promising business start-ups to undergo a rigorous program of strategic development through consulting with an entrepreneurial team with the goal of turning scalable ideas into marketable products and/or services. The second initiative is the Development of Intellectual Property which seeks to turn promising research into viable products or services by furthering patents and marketing Penn State inventions to potential investors, licensors, and collaborators.