Born or Bred Survey Results

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I-cubators

I-cubators are Northeastern Universities new thrust in experiential learning and technology commercialization. I-cubators comprise teams of students, faculty and dedicated professional staff in a focus area whose purpose is to further develop technology, create product prototypes, evaluate markets and customer needs, and create fundable business plans.

In the figure above, the basic structure of an I-cubator is shown. At the core are student teams consisting of both graduate and undergraduate members. The role of these student teams is to vet ideas by evaluating both market and technological feasibility. Students involved from the STE and CBA will develop the requisite skills in their classes to evaluate potential markets and conduct interviews with potential customers.

Teams will also benefit from alumni and industrial mentors. These mentors will be individuals with a particular interest in the idea being vetted. The mentoring process provides them with an opportunity to follow an idea through the vetting process and influence the outcome.

Student involvement currently is at the graduate level only, but will ultimately be extended to undergraduates. Our graduate students can be divided into three groups; those working toward degrees in intrapreneurship or entrepreneurship [HTMBA(High Tech MBA) and MSTE(Master of Technological Entrepreneurship)], those who are taking a certificate in STE as a 'minor' to their technological degree, and those who are strictly technologists coming from a graduate program in one of our four science and engineering schools [the College of Engineering (COE), the College of Computer and Information Sciences (CCIS), the College of Health Sciences ( Bouvé), and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)].

The I-cubator Director is a permanent employee with significant experience in the operation of small high growth high tech companies. It is the responsibility of this individual to coordinate the activities of the project teams, to guide teams through technical and logistical problems. The I-cubator Director will be an individual with significant experience in technology start-up ventures and particularly with the management of those ventures. His/her role will be to help coordinate project teams, identify resource needs, acquire resources as necessary to support those teams, provide administrative support and organize mentoring support for team leaders.

The process for idea capture, through vetting, to enterprise formation is shown in the figure below. Ideas originate at a number of sources including industry partners, faculty and students. Both undergraduate and graduate students may bring their own ideas. Ideas from students and faculty would be presented to industrial partners for financial support. Once selected, ideas would be disseminated to available students and team members through a series of presentations/seminars by the originators that detail the concept and the perceived market opportunity.

Project team formation will be facilitated by the I-cubator Director and faculty. Project teams are then responsible for both technological and market feasibility analysis. Technological team members will be required to further develop the idea in order to create a prototype that meets customer needs as determined through market analysis. Development can continue beyond the ‘lifetime’ of individual team members; however, as required by the curriculum, some students will be generating business plans each semester. This scheme allows the possibility of multiple year projects as may be required to develop the sufficiently sophisticated prototype needed to attract subsequent investment.