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Lycoming College receives Keystone Innovation Grant |
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9-16-08
Lycoming College has received a Keystone Innovation Grant of $47,929 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to provide direct client services, education outreach activities and student internships for Williamsport-Lycoming Keystone Innovation Zone (WLKIZ) companies and clients. Each component will supplement existing WLKIZ services, bridge the gap between idea development and business start-up, strengthen the informal collaborations between Lycoming faculty and the local region, and provide Lycoming students with enhanced learning opportunities. The initiatives supported by the grant will help move the number of WLKIZ clients from idea development toward the creation of sustainable businesses, which will in turn strengthen the economic development of this region. Lycoming is one of 23 colleges and universities throughout the state to receive a grant. In 2005, Lycoming College and Pennsylvania College of Technology, in collaboration with the Industrial Modernization Center, were awarded a $242,000 Keystone Innovation Zone grant. The College’s Institute for Management Studies (IMS) is an integral part of the Williamsport-Lycoming KIZ. The IMS is comprised of faculty and students from the accounting, business administration and economics departments. As a partner in the WLKIZ, Lycoming offers a variety of valuable business services. IMS faculty have shared their practical and research expertise with KIZ companies in the following areas: cost accounting, audits, business plans, economic feasibility studies, market research, marketing and promotion, management and organizational assessment, personnel management and other general analysis. As of August 2008, the Williamsport-Lycoming Keystone Innovation Zone is home to seven KIZ companies, and has 60 active prospects. During the first two years of funding for the WLKIZ, Lycoming faculty assisted on five client services projects ranging from business marketing workshops to research and development to economic studies. Students involved with Lycoming’s IMS program are eligible for internships associated with the WLKIZ. The KIZs were created through Governor Rendell's original economic stimulus package to gather and align the combined resources of institutions of higher education, private business, commercial lending, venture capital and foundations. The commonwealth provides funding for KIZ creation through the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. Since the inception of the KIZ program in 2004, 29 zones have been established, partnering with 91 institutes of higher education, creating 2,769 jobs and leveraging $440 million. The Keystone Innovation Grants encourage technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property between Pennsylvania's technology-oriented businesses and entrepreneurs and KIZ-participating institutions of higher education and to spur the development of company formation in the commonwealth. The grants provide seed capital for faculty and students to conduct business plan and marketing analysis, prototyping, patent research and filing, intellectual property and licensing, and royalty agreements. Two previous rounds of the grant program leveraged nearly $86 million through a $6.5 million investment, created 235 jobs, retained an additional 252 jobs, created 71 start-up companies developed 565 new technologies and awarded 242 patents. |
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