Incubation/Entrepreneurship Partnership Model
Definition:     Education and industry partner to foster and grow student or industry economic development opportunities.

Examples:    Maker spaces, incubator labs, pitch contests, startup competitions

Implementation Strategies
  • Host events including administration, general public to generate interest
  • Facilitate sharing of resources, ideas between industry, educators
  • Be sure to have your administration on board
  • Create opportunities for student innovators to mix with industry entrepreneurs
  • Invite commerce and political policy makers to planning table
  • Provide professional audience for student innovation pitches, competitions
  • Make instructions for judges, panelists as clear as possible

Reported Impacts
  • Exposed students to the entrepreneurial process
  • Increased interactions with local industry, community
  • Increased program exposure
  • Provided facilities for small businesses to prototype new products 

Reported Challenges
  • Finding, recruiting appropriate industry partners
  • Obtaining necessary space, equipment, tools
  • Navigating liability issues
  • Finding/allocating resources for coordinating logistics
  • Clarifying ownership of intellectual property rights
  • Ensuring students are engaged
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Incubation/Entrepreneurship Case Study


​The National Resource Center for Materials Education (MatEDU) maintains an 11,000 sq ft materials science lab that initially made available -  when not being used for instruction  - to regional companies for testing, prototyping and specialized employee training.  After this successful venture, they did the same with their advanced manufacturing facility, this time with a focus on startups and entrepreneurs.  In both instances, students are provided opportunities to meet innovators, work alongside them in the labs, and learn about the concept to market cycle of innovation through firsthand observation.