Watch out MIT: The U’s hot on your heels.
The Association of University Technology Managers, which ranks public and private institutions across the country, ranked the U second for new technology companies started based on university research.
“This is the second year that we’ve been ranked number two, both times to (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology),” said Jack Brittain, vice president of U Technology Venture Development.
In 2007, the most recently reported year, the U started 18 new companies from university research, compared to MIT’s 24. The ranking means even more to U administrators because of the huge gap between the amount of federal funds allotted to each school. According to the report, MIT receives $1,216,800,000 while the U receives nearly a fifth of that, almost $275,000,000.
The Technology Commercialization Office, which was started in 1967, is responsible for the creation of the companies utilizing research performed and patented by U professors and students.
“We take these technologies that have been developed at the U through research effort, then we build a company around it,” Brittain said.
The U’s tech ventures program, although only three years old, has already become a leader in the new venture development arena, boasting 38 new companies in two years.
“If you go to other schools, you can merely study these things, but if you go here, you can actually apply it and get a hands-on experience,” said Catherine Garff, a marketing analyst with the tech venture department.
The rankings and success of the companies have garnered international attention, prompting other countries to solicit the U’s help in economic issues.
“We’ve been asked to go to China to speak to the Ministry of Education,” Brittain said. “We’ve been noticed a lot8212;everyone wants to know how to create jobs for their people.”
The jobs created by the companies come as a relief in a time of economic hardship. As the recession deepens, the goal of offering more opportunities becomes all the more important, Brittain said.
“(U President Michael) Young wanted the U to have an active role in the economic growth of the state,” Brittain said. “We’re doing this by creating businesses in Utah that stay in Utah and employ residents of Utah. We’re really trying to get these started because it creates a lot more value for the state.”
On top of creating immediate jobs, the program also prepares its participants for their futures and makes them much more attractive in the business world.
Troy D’Ambrosio, director of the Lassonde New Venture Development Center within the tech ventures department, said he has seen many successes come out of the university.
Lane Christensen, a U alumnus who graduated with a doctorate in pharmaceutics, applied for a research position at Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceuticals company, and was asked about the Lassonde Center during the interview. He presented a business plan that he had created while working with the program and was instead offered a job in the business development sector of the company, a much more lucrative position.
“That’s the classic example of what we like to happen,” D’Ambrosio said. “Our biggest success is the students that come through the center and the opportunities that they have afterwards as a result.”