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The Birth of the University as Innovation Incubator
- The article explores the origins of universities as innovation incubators through the example of a 1975 automated taxi-dispatch service prototype at Carnegie Mellon University, challenging the norms of research science and higher education.
- During the Cold War era, the United States focused on training scientists and engineers to serve a linear model of innovation, shaping national science policy and funding higher education.
- The late 1960s saw a breakdown in the postwar academic science and engineering model, leading to a shift towards promoting innovators as agents of change.
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated experimental models for fostering innovation, such as the Office of Experimental R&D Incentives, aimed at accelerating technology transfer for national needs.
- University innovation centers like MIT, the University of Oregon, the University of Utah, and Carnegie Mellon were established by the NSF to support entrepreneurship and technological solutions to social problems.
- Carnegie Mellon's Center for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) led by Dwight Baumann aimed to nurture entrepreneurship as a core function of the university by supporting early-stage ventures and educating students.
- The CED's focus on empowering entrepreneurs in the face of risks and uncertainties resulted in various ventures, with some successes like Compuguard, which grew into a significant enterprise.
- Despite some successes, tensions arose as NSF funding for the CED ended in 1978 due to conflicts over the program's leadership and goals among CMU faculty.
- The NSF's Innovation Center experiment faced criticism for its perceived narrow view of innovation, but its legacy is evident in today's emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education.
- The experiment played a crucial role in institutionalizing the concept of innovator-entrepreneurs and fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across college campuses.
- Ultimately, the NSF experiment paved the way for innovation education to benefit all students, contributing to the integration of innovation into the fabric of institutions and educational systems.
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