Joint Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron-The University of Akron Program Aims to Increase Entrepreneurs in Biomedical and Alternative Energy Fields
AKRON, Ohio, Oct. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) and The University of Akron College of Business Administration (UA) will host a second Women's Entrepreneurship Program (WEP) with the support of the Dominion Foundation, which recently donated $10,000 for the course's return.
A public informational session will take place from 5-6 p.m., Wednesday, October 26, in Room 765 of UA's Taylor Institute. Program information and an enrollment application are available at www.abiakron.org/wep.
The WEP program was launched by ABIA and UA in January 2011, and accepted 16 students working on seven innovative technology projects. The aim of the program is to increase the number of woman entrepreneurs in burgeoning technology fields, and to facilitate commercialization of novel biomedical and alternative energy technologies in Akron, Ohio.
The second course is scheduled to take place through The University of Akron College of Business Administration during the 2012 spring semester.
Projects admitted into the program are those with the potential to be spun into a company, or licensed within 18 to 24 months. Once accepted, teams are exposed to a comprehensive business curriculum, mentoring by industry leaders and real-world experiences in order to advance their ideas to actual business concepts.
"Both during and after the program, we were surrounded by resources and experienced entrepreneurs who were more than willing to answer our questions and help us in our business endeavors," said Courtney Gras, a graduate of The University of Akron whose team is targeting the battery industry with a solution to the alternative-energy storage problem. "The program really helped us to build our network and get integrated into the Northeast Ohio business culture."
Kelly Mackey, another University of Akron graduate who completed the pilot course, noted how her team's idea for an artificial connective tissue advanced with the help of the program. "At the start of the program, our idea was pure concept and over the course of the program we refined it to a product idea that would not only fulfill needs in the marketplace, but displace older methods and provide better recovery for patients," Mackey said.
Teams that completed the course in April continue to flourish from the program's existence. Gras and her partner recently formed a limited liability company, have been pursuing local business competitions while perfecting their prototypes and were approached by a local company interested in initiating a joint venture. "This is a very exciting start for us," said Gras.
Mackey and her partner, Jessica Kemppainen, continue to work on their project in the lab. While there is still work to be done on their concept before it can be commercialized, she noted that "the benefits of the Women's Entrepreneurship Program did not end with this idea, but provided an educational foundation for pursuing other ideas in the future."
Christine Flick, a senior design engineer for the ABIA's Medical Device Development Center (MDDC) who completed the pilot course with a project that would lead to faster suturing was recently awarded additional funding through the ABIA's Technology Development Fund (TDF). The newly awarded funding will be used to create a prototype for her team's device.
About the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron
The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) - an exceptional collaboration of Akron Children's Hospital, Akron General Health System, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Summa Health System, The University of Akron and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation - is focused on patient-centered innovation and commercialization at the intersection of biomaterials and medicine. The strategic alignment of public and private support, accompanied with Akron's rich legacy in materials science, is working to pioneer the next generation of life-enhancing and life-saving innovation that will transform Akron into a model for biomedical discovery and enterprise and move the region toward a secure economic future by accelerating the creation of more than 2,000 jobs during the next decade. For more information about ABIA, please visit www.abiakron.org.
Media Contact:
Scott Rainone
Office of Communications
Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron
330-572-7581, srainone@abiakron.org
SOURCE Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron
