Senior Design Project Commercialization And Entrepreneurship
Ken Ports
Abstract
This paper describes the development and growth of an innovative new program that is a synergistic combination of Florida Tech's technology commercialization-related course offerings in Engineering Management, its Senior Design course curriculum, and its new business accelerator, Florida TechStart. The program is designed for the subset of senior design course students who desire to leverage their design course experience by commercializing their innovative products and technologies and creating start-up companies. Florida Tech's engineering management curriculum offers innovative courses in technical marketing, high tech product strategy, fast cycle time product development & launch, and engineering entrepreneurship. In these case study courses, students develop real world marketing and business plans for commercializing innovative new products and technologies. Some of the innovative product development and technology commercialization ideas have won accolades at regional business idea pitching competitions.