Innovation Alliance Resources

The University of Akron (UA) and Lorain County Community College (LCCC) bring to the Innovation Alliance an impressive array of expertise and resources in the areas of technology transfer, entrepreneurship and economic education. These well-established and diverse assets will serve as the initial foundation for the Innovation Corridor.

Technology Transfer

Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) – Ohio’s first business incubator located on a community college campus was established in 2001 via a partnership of the Lorain County Commissioners, County Chamber and LCCC. GLIDE has served more than 500 entrepreneurs and 17 client companies, and was integral in LCCC winning the designation of Ohio’s newest Edison Technology Incubator.
The Office of Technology Transfer – UA’s Office of Technology Transfer provides business and academic researchers with needed support to take innovations and discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace. Services include: coordination of invention disclosures; review of inventions for marketability, patent application and patent maintenance; and arrangements for licensing of technology and inventions.
University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF) – Established in 2001, the UARF promotes, encourages and provides assistance to the research activities of University faculty, staff and students. This not-for-profit organization provides the means by which discoveries, inventions, processes and work products of UA faculty, staff and students ultimately benefit the public. Funds generated by such discoveries are used to enhance research at the University.
University Innovation Ventures (UIV) – A creation of the UARF, the UIV assists local businesses in commercializing non-core intellectual property derived from diverse industry partners. The University provides a “neutral hub” in which diverse scientific and commercial interests can assess and develop technologies without compromising the proprietary nature of the partners’ respective businesses.
Applied Polymer Research Center – Technical services are provided by the center to thousands of companies at a rate of 400-500 projects per year. Its full time professional staff, utilizing a $500,000 inventory of modern instrumentation, performs sophisticated and timely contractual technical services for industrial and government clients. The center also has access to specialized technology and equipment through the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and will interface with a staff of more than 30 highly specialized faculty to solve more complex polymer related problems. The center is operated by The University of Akron’s Maurice Morton Institute of Polymer Science and has served the business community for nearly half a century.

Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fund – In 2006, the Lorain County Community College Foundation received IRS permission to establish the Innovation Fund, a charitable-based pre-seed capital fund to provide awards to entrepreneurs in the early stages of business development, while creating enhanced educational opportunities for students and faculty. This fund addresses a critical gap in the business-funding continuum by making awards to businesses at the proof-of-concept and start-up phases.
William and Rita Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies – Established in 1995, the institute encourages the entrepreneurial spirit and practices within the University’s curriculum and throughout the business community. By developing a curriculum focused on new ventures and the entrepreneurial development of existing businesses, the institute provides a critical link between the University and the community’s entrepreneurs. The institute also sponsors several outreach projects, such as the Center for Family Business, the Center for Small Business and Students in Free Enterprise.
Entrepreneurship Innovation Institute (EII) – This institute enables the private sector to partner with higher education at LCCC. The EII encompasses all of LCCC’s resources that are most important for growing a company, including: business start-up and growth services; organizational and workforce development; access to advanced technology; state-of-the-market business and conference facilities; and access to a collaborative network of local, regional and national partners.
Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology – The center coordinates the intellectual property curriculum of UA’s School of Law, which has been ranked among the best values in the nation. The center assists local companies with respect to the administration of their intellectual property portfolios, and draws upon the advice and recommendations of the Intellectual Property Law Council, which is composed of practitioners, public officials and inventors from around the world.
Medina County University Center (MCUC) – The center hosts a number of professional development workshops at various locations within the community. Its professional staff works with companies on a one-on-one basis to address customized training and development needs. Until the main Medina campus opens in fall 2007, the MCUC operates from an interim office in the Medina County Workforce Development Center.

Economic Education

Center for Economic Education – The center conducts workshops, seminars and economic programs on the Akron campus to improve individuals’ economic literacy. It also provides consulting services and acts as a clearinghouse for the gathering and dissemination of economic education materials and programs.
Gary L. and Karen S. Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing – Launched in 2004, UA’s Taylor Institute focuses on the database marketing formats of telemarketing, e-marketing, interactive television and other types of response marketing. The institute is a partnership with Gary L. Taylor, chairman of the board of Akron-based teleservices company InfoCision Management Corporation, and includes high-profile direct marketing practitioners among its faculty, administrators and advisors. Students who enroll in the Institute’s e-marketing and advertising major or its two minor programs in database marketing and direct interactive marketing find that theory and practicum are balanced through an emphasis on internships and hands-on learning in state-of-the-art labs.
Institute for Global Business – The institute was founded in 1996 when the State of Ohio provided special funding to The University of Akron to expand its offerings of undergraduate and graduate degree programming in international business. Today, the institute also provides short courses and seminars designed to help improve the international competitiveness of area business. Students may opt to take credit or noncredit programming in international business through the institute.
Center for Organizational Research (COR) – This business research and consulting center is managed by UA’s nationally recognized and ranked Industrial/Organizational Psychology Department. COR provides organizations and businesses with research-based solutions to the issues that confront employers and employees in the work environment.
Center for Public Service Research and Training (CPSRT) – The successor to UA’s Center for Urban Studies, the CPSRT assists local and regional communities in policy analysis and evaluation, applied research, professional service and resolution of social, economic and public management problems. The center’s services are available to community foundations and organizations, as well as all levels of government.

For more information about the Innovation Alliance, call (888) 570-7147.