Now nearly three months into his position as this university’s vice president for research, Patrick O’Shea launched an inaugural initiative last week to create a more globally-engaged campus through fostering innovation and expanding entrepreneurship.
The multifaceted plan will change the face of the university, moving it beyond just a research-based institution to one that will better help students turn their ideas into real world, commercialized products on a regional, national or international scale, O’Shea said. The university has the resources to accomplish this feat, he added, and the next step is organizing and funding pre-existing programs to meet these goals.
“If you think about the history of universities, it was really about uncovering knowledge, not so much about converting that to something that would make a difference for society,” he said. “So we’re trying to begin to change that paradigm.”
In April, university President Wallace Loh — along with 140 additional university administrators at schools across the country — signed a federal letter that committed this university to improving technology, commercialization and research programs for its students, faculty and staff. O’Shea’s goals, which are updated versions of those outlined in Loh’s commitment, received a crucial promise of funding this week: a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The initiative boasts a wide array of plans that will facilitate learning both inside and outside the classroom, O’Shea said.
One of the most challenging goals, according to Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development Brian Darmody, is to create 100 new university companies in the next 10 years, which is included in the University System of Maryland’s Strategic Plan. However, high-ranking officials said it’s obtainable because of the university’s vast resources and connections.
“Some of this is aligning assets we already have and making them more efficient,” Darmody said. “New company creation is one of the ways to improve a struggling economy. And research shows that it’s smaller companies that produce most of the new jobs.”
The university already supports a number of programs pertaining to promoting and celebrating entrepreneurship — including the business school’s Dingman Center, the center’s Entrepreneurs Boot Camp, Inventions of the Year awards and entrepreneurship fellowships. Darmody said university officials will continue to improve and expand these programs.
Several students said increasing programs such as these will help fuel their future careers.
“I do have a general ambition to start my own business and I guess the risks are inherent in that,” said public policy graduate student Brendan Atwood. “It’s filling a niche in the market in terms of doing a service that other people don’t provide.”
Additionally, a new 15-credit technology entrepreneurship minor launched this semester and is comprised of courses in strategic management, marketing and techniques to creating a start-up company. O’Shea said he plans to raise awareness about the new minor and have students enroll from all disciplines.
One of the biggest challenges for this initiative is the availability of funding, administrators said. With some grants ending this school year, the university’s uncertain financial future could put a damper on campus entrepreneurial projects, according to Darmody.
However, programs in fields of business innovation are hot commodities, Darmody said.
“No question there’s going to be a fiscally challenging environment on Capitol Hill and in Annapolis,” Darmody said. “But elected officials from both sides of the aisle are interested in job creation.”
And creating a campus culture that highlights innovation needs student support, O’Shea said.
“An entrepreneur is like an explorer — an explorer goes off the map,” he said. “You have to learn to be comfortable with failure and create some success with failure.”
But students said attaining success in this field isn’t easy; it involves more than just a vision.
“You have to consider so many factors — you need so much investment from outside sources so it’s a really difficult thing,” said senior operations management and information systems major Nora Meador. “But if you could obtain the resources then I think it’s a risk worth taking.”
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