New business incubator and prototyping lab to open in October 2014.
Chicago University is helping its researchers find more opportunities to achieve peer-reviewed publishing and technology transfer. To this effect, it is opening both a new incubator and a prototyping lab in October 2014.
Called Chicago Innovation Exchange, the initiative is headed by its executive director John Flavin, who Chicago hired in October 2013 to improve the university’s commercialisation and support both students and faculty bring their ideas to fruition.
The co-working space at the Exchange will offer 130 desks for entrepreneurs, as well as provide facilities for video conferencing and eight conference rooms. The space will also include a coffee bar. If selected to enter the incubator, entrepreneurs will also be able to apply for funding from a $20m fund.
The initiative marks a major shift for the institution that once gave away its research on what turned out to be one of the most profound discoveries. In 1977, Eugene Goldwasser discovered functions of the liver that fundamentally changed the treatment options for dialysis and anemic patients, but was not able to convince the university to patent his discovery. The drugs developed based on that research by Amgen became a $40bn business.
John Flavin, executive director at Chicago Innovation Exchange, commented: “At places like MIT, you ask if you can patent before you ask if you can publish.”
