Universities are responsible for amazing technology. From Google’s PageRank algorithm
to Gatorade. But too often, innovation remains locked up inside a college campus.
We are breaking this trend at Wichita State by solving real-world problems encountered
by industry today.
A key partnership has been forged to diversify Kansas’ economy and promote Wichita
State University’s faculty innovation.
WSU’s Office of Tech Transfer and Commercialization has aligned with Innosphere Ventures, a Colorado-based incubator and commercialization program that accelerates business
success of science and technology-based start-up companies, to commercialize faculty
inventors.
“Building relationships with industry partners is key to successfully transferring
technology into the commercial marketplace,” said Rob Gerlach, executive director
of the Office of Tech Transfer and Commercialization. “Wichita State works closely
with local, regional and national entities to accelerate discovery and innovation,
and we’re excited to have Innosphere as a new partner that can help us bring cutting-edge
technology to the commercial marketplace.”
Innosphere’s University Partner Program works directly with technology transfer offices
at leading research universities across a multi-state region to connect inventors
with business drivers, facilitate introductions to corporate partners, advance technologies
to commercialization, and turn startups into high-growth businesses.
“Moving an invention from the lab to the marketplace and forming a successful company
can be daunting, so we’re excited to be a resource for Wichita State’s technical founders
and faculty as they commercialize technologies and bring ideas to life,” said Mike
Freeman, CEO of Innosphere Ventures. “Wichita State’s tech transfer office meets at
the junction of academics and industry, creating a unique innovation effort that is
focused on researching and solving industry-focused, real-world problems.”
Innosphere Ventures recently released the Kansas Venture Capital Ecosystem Review which covers investment trends shaping the state’s venture ecosystem and reveals
challenges for up-and-coming innovation hotspots such as Kansas. The report suggests
that the Kansas startup ecosystem has rebounded since the pandemic year, with very
strong venture capital activity in the first half of 2021.
