Developing Enterprising Universities

In his entrepreneurship lecture, University of Wisconsin Professor Thomas Mackie talks about how to improve the economy and make universities better. The speaker shares a blueprint for how any university can become a more entrepreneurial one.

The entrepreneurship lecture begins with examples of working spin-off companies from the University of Wisconsin, including TomoTherapy, Inc. where Mackie is the co-founder, co-inventor and chairman. Many of these companies are coming from students, giving the university a reputation regionally for fostering an entrepreneurial spirit.

The concept of encouraging technological, economic and cultural innovation applies to both artists and scientists as the communication and exchange of knowledge is important in any field. If an academic institution has important applied ideas internally, it has an obligation to share them. Schools need to establish a degree of commitment and how much time an individual faculty member can spend with individual enterprising students. The amount of time engaging in entrepreneurial activity should be determined by the department or college.