{"id":166295,"date":"2020-11-18T07:47:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T12:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=166295"},"modified":"2020-11-20T09:59:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T14:59:32","slug":"qa-magic-university-entrepreneurship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2020\/11\/qa-magic-university-entrepreneurship\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: The Magic of University Entrepreneurship"},"content":{"rendered":"

As one of the nation\u2019s top 25 public research universities, UConn is home to many faculty and student inventors. The discoveries they make in the lab could some day become products and services that help society. They could also launch Connecticut companies that provide high paying jobs in the state. But it\u2019s not always easy to think like an entrepreneur when you\u2019ve been trained as an academic researcher.<\/em><\/p>\n

Abhijit (Jit) Banerjee, Ph.D., MBA, is leading UConn\u2019s mission to help more faculty and students participate in commercialization activities. Banerjee, who has extensive experience facilitating public-private partnerships, joined UConn\u2019s Office of the Vice President for Research as Associate Vice President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in May 2020. He leads Technology Commercialization Services<\/a>, a group that specializes in transforming UConn inventions into products, services, and companies that help society.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOur efforts to bring the fruits of our research to the world are tremendously strengthened by Jit\u2019s arrival at UConn,\u201d says President Thomas Katsouleas. \u201cHis background, skills, and passion for the work are going to help us become even more prolific and successful in demonstrating the value of the world-class research being done at UConn.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Banerjee recently answered a few questions about becoming a Husky during a pandemic and the importance of innovation to tackle the world\u2019s great challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Connecticut has a rich history of innovation and invention. How does UConn contribute to this legacy? What do you think the University can do to help the state\u2019s economic health now and in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The innovation engine runs 24\/7, 365 days at UConn. The University\u2019s 14 schools and colleges are filled with world-class faculty and students who are building on UConn\u2019s strong legacy of innovation. Our footprint isn\u2019t limited to the local geography either. UConn has a statewide impact, with programs like the UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP), a flagship program that supports UConn companies as well as external ventures. TIP\u2019s three locations in Storrs, Farmington, and the soon-to-be-launched Stamford site support the state\u2019s economy because it grows and attracts companies that want to locate in Connecticut and will create jobs here. Another example is the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park, which is a world-class engineering living lab that is an asset to the state\u2019s engineering and manufacturing industry.<\/p>\n

With all of these hubs of innovation, I am convinced that the University still has too many \u201cwell kept secrets\u201d for businesses and citizens around our state.\u00a0 We have expert faculty in every field, talented students to bolster the state\u2019s innovation workforce, and unparalleled facilities to help solve problems and make breakthroughs for any industry sector, from manufacturing to personalized medicine.<\/p>\n

In a fiercely competitive national environment where every state is aggressively looking to expand their funding and improve their economic health, success comes when the state, its agencies, and major innovation engines like UConn work hand-in-hand. I plan to do everything I can to help UConn continue our collaborative approach to support state economic development goals.<\/p>\n

In your newly created role within the Office of the Vice President for Research, you are responsible for leading UConn\u2019s efforts to enhance entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology commercialization for UConn companies and external ventures. How do you and your team support these efforts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Technology Commercialization Service (TCS) team is responsible for protecting intellectual property that is generated at UConn and bringing inventions from bench to marketplace or bedside through commercialization. A major focus for TCS is fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem that enables faculty and students to pursue commercialization of their discoveries \u2013 whether it be through licensing to existing companies or forming startups. The TCS team has dedicated and passionate individuals who are deeply committed to the University and all faculty, regardless of the discipline.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve met with leaders at each school and college, it has become clear that there is an opportunity for TCS to take much bigger and strategic roles across the University, and we are excited to take that on.<\/p>\n

How has the pandemic affected innovation, in your opinion? What challenges and opportunities does it provide for faculty and student innovators?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The impact of COVID-19 on global well-being is now being felt in every sphere, from mental health to the economy to education. This pandemic has taught us to quickly adapt, pivot, and rely on both instincts and innovation to get through this and survive the new normal.<\/p>\n

As the world collectively works to find a vaccine for this pathogen, we shouldn\u2019t stop innovating and seeking solutions for other major challenges we still face. Climate change, wild fires, tsunami, and hurricanes are impacting both human lives and our ecosystem. As we know, any slight imbalance in this ecosystem can cause disasters which are often irreversible. There are thousands of other conditions that still need effective treatments. We can still do more to develop innovative technologies that support the defense sector. For all of these problems, science, innovation, and commercialization can help find solutions. I am confident UConn inventors will be part of the solution and TCS is here to support them on that path.<\/p>\n

You joined UConn while the University was still in the middle of the COVID-19 ramp down. How do you like being a Husky so far during these unprecedented times?<\/strong><\/p>\n

COVID-19 has changed the way we conduct business and interact, and for the unforeseen future, we need to accept this as the new normal. Our individual responsibility to stay healthy and follow guidance from scientific experts to reduce risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection adds another layer of complexity. From what I\u2019ve seen so far, at the individual and organizational level, UConn Nation is pivoting and adapting to continue working towards our educational, research, and service goals.<\/p>\n

But I have to admit that even before I came to UConn, I felt an affinity for Husky Nation, since our family dog was a Siberian Husky named Mishi. We recently lost him to cancer, but he brought out the best in us as humans and I can see that same core value in everyone I\u2019ve met so far at UConn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To learn more about UConn technologies and startups, visit <\/em>www.innovation.uconn.edu<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Follow UConn Research on<\/em> Twitter<\/em><\/a> &<\/em> LinkedIn<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abhijit (Jit) Banerjee, UConn’s new AVP of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, talks about the University’s strengths in these areas, and the ways it can become even more successful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":166297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1731,2256,1868,2235],"tags":[2249,2257],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2140],"class_list":["post-166295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entrepreneurship","category-innovation","category-meds","category-today-homepage","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-innovation"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 03:13:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166295"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166336,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166295\/revisions\/166336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/166297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166295"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=166295"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=166295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}