Lawrence Technological University
Lawrence Technological University
21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075-1058 • 1.800.CALL.LTU
Technology Transfer
The Office of Technology Partnerships is led by Mark Brucki, Director, 248-204-2310
Incubators
Great Lakes Interchange SmartZone & Automation Alley
As part of the network of SmartZones created by the state's Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Lawrence Tech is a founding member and partner in both the Great Lakes Interchange SmartZone, focused solely on Oakland County economic development, as well as Automation Alley, which has grown to include eight counties in Southeast Michigan.
Lawrence Tech supports SmartZone activities by providing access to training, research, and conference, information technology, and recreation facilities to SmartZone tenants. The University provides opportunities for applied research and technology transfer using faculty and students. Customized cooperative education programs link Lawrence Tech students with SmartZone tenants for their mutual benefit as well as strengthening workforce capacity in the region.
City of Southfield
Lawrence Tech is currently working with the City of Southfield, the MEDC, local business leaders, Chambers of Commerce, and real estate firms to develop several sites for business accelerators and incubators to assist service and technology-based businesses grow.
University-Industry Commercialization Programs
Applied Research at Lawrence Tech
Through its Research to Reality model, Lawrence Tech serves as an economic development catalyst and resource for Southeast Michigan. With its strong and agile working relationship with industry, economic development organizations, and community agencies, and its focus on applied research, entrepreneurship, and innovation, Lawrence Tech helps accelerate economic growth and the vitality of Southeast Michigan leading to a major shift in culture, the commercialization of new products, and knowledge-based job creation and retention.
As part of its new Strategic Plan (www.ltu.edu/strategicplan), Lawrence Tech, with the input of industry and community leaders, has identified seven Centers of Excellence to focus its applied research efforts and includes the integration of academic programs, sponsored student projects, internships, co-ops, applied research, and commercialization. They include:
- Leadership (Global Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Nonprofit Management)
- Materials and Structures
- Mobility
- Energy
- Sustainability
- Urban Planning & Design
- Life Sciences
These programs are synergistic with many of the Regional Initiatives set by Detroit Renaissance, the Detroit Regional Chamber, OneD, Oakland County Economic Development, Wayne County Economic Development, the MEDC, NextEnergy, and MICHAuto.
Entrepreneurship Education related to Economic Development
Establishing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Lawrence Tech’s new Vision is: “To be a preeminent private university producing leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset and a global view.” Consistent with its new Vision and Strategic Plan (www.ltu.edu/strategicplan) Lawrence Tech will be distinguished for its core curriculum that integrates principles of leadership and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, by 2009, we will differentiate Lawrence Tech through the creation of a comprehensive approach to the integration of entrepreneurship into the curriculum.
To achieve these objectives throughout the University, Lawrence Tech is in the planning stage of developing:
- An Annual University Leadership Entrepreneurial Mindset Workshop
- A Faculty Entrepreneurial Mindset Workshops Series
- The Interdisciplinary Academic Integration of Entrepreneurship
- Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurial Student Projects
- A Student Project Commercialization, Mentoring and Incubator Program
- A very unique Entrepreneur’s Competition
- Entrepreneurial Co-ops and Internships through Entrepreneurial Networks
- A Survey of Alumni and Entrepreneurial Assessment
Senior Projects- Engineering
www.ltu.edu/engineering/07_senior_projects.asp
Lawrence Tech students in all colleges are required to work on "real-world" projects. This includes developing business plans and marketing plans for corporations; designing web pages; developing award-winning high performance, low mileage vehicles; and developing architectural and civic improvement projects for dozens of Michigan communities.
Invention to Venture (I2V) Entrepreneurial Workshops
Lawrence Tech has partnered with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) on an annual program to foster invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship in higher education as a way of creating innovative, commercially viable, and socially beneficial businesses and employment opportunities in Michigan. In 2006, Lawrence Tech was the first university in Michigan to hold an Invention to Venture (I2V) Entrepreneurial Workshop to bring together College Students, Faculty, Early Stage, and Stage One entrepreneurs to hear from seasoned corporate intrapreneurs and serial entrepreneurs from around Southeast Michigan.
Entrepreneurial Outreach to High School Students
Lawrence Tech provides a portfolio of opportunities consistently throughout the year for hands-on engagement with High School students with seasoned, serial entrepreneurs. These include:
- Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour (EET) www.extremetour.org. Lawrence Tech has partnered with EET, the only national collegiate entrepreneur tour, to provide a half-day entrepreneurial program for High School and College Students to hear from local and some of the country's top young entrepreneurs to college campuses to spread the entrepreneurial mindset. Lawrence Tech was the first to host the EET event in Michigan in 2007 and will do so annually.
- Summer Business Camps. Building upon several years of success, Lawrence Tech hosts Summer Business Camps focused on introducing entrepreneurship to high school students locally and from around the country, with three different organizations; Lawrence Tech; The Legacy Foundation; and Michigan Association of Female Entrepreneurs. The program’s website states that “offered through Lawrence Tech's Lear Entrepreneurial Center, the BizCamp provides you with an overview of the world of the entrepreneur. You'll learn about the challenges and rewards of running your own business, and you'll participate in hands-on activities that culminate with a business plan competition in which you'll compete for start-up capital (cash prizes!). Local entrepreneurs will visit and talk about the skills you'll need to compete in today's global marketplace”. More info at: http://www.ltu.edu/community_k12/summer_camps.asp.
Economic Development/Outreach
Detroit Regional Economic Partnership
Lawrence Tech is the only University represented on the Advisory Committee of the Detroit Regional (Chamber) Economic Partnership.
This is a public and private sector effort representing the 10 counties of southeast Michigan and the city of Detroit, along with 100 private-sector investors charged with creating a regional approach to economic development in southeast Michigan.
Professional Development Center
The Professional Development Center (PDC) provides coaching, consulting, and know-how on business acceleration. The PDC assists individuals and businesses in keeping ahead of changing market demands and keeping business functions competitive. Lawrence Tech President Lewis N. Walker said the PDC helps Michigan companies remain competitive so they can maintain and expand their employment levels in the state. Focus areas include: Leadership and Executive Coaching, Consulting, Six Sigma, Lean, Project Management, Insurance Studies and Entrepreneurship.
- Entrepreneurship Program http://www.ltu.edu/pdc/entrepreneure.asp. The PDC is devoted to the development of innovators, business owners, and entrepreneurs. The PDC's Entrepreneurship program is a way for businesses, professionals, and students to get closer to their dreams of opening a new market, commercializing a product, starting a business, and more.
At the PDC, you will find seasoned leaders from the business community who have experience and success at business launch, commercialization, and all key facets of entrepreneurship. You can learn with the experts. Consultation occurs at the individual (rather than workshop/classroom) level, so that your business coaching is customized as well as confidential. First consultations are free of charge.
For those looking for continuing education credit and/or deeper review of key topics, a wide range of offerings is available, including the PDC's Custom Entrepreneurship Curriculum.
Osborn Neighborhood Entrepreneurship and Microenterprise Project
www.ltu.edu/management/Osborn.asp
The Osborn Neighborhood Entrepreneurship and Microenterprise Project is a partnership between the Center for Nonprofit Management at Lawrence Technological University, the Skillman Foundation’s Good Neighbors Initiative and the residents of the Osborn Community of northeast Detroit. The Center for Nonprofit Management has been awarded a two-year, $257,000 grant through the Good Neighborhoods Initiative of the Skillman Foundation to support entrepreneurs and facilitate microenterprise development in the Osborn neighborhood of northeast Detroit. Microenterprise is a proven business strategy for providing supplemental income for households that already have a wage earner. Examples of successful microenterprises include daycare services, transportation and messenger services, and basement fish farms that have generated up to $30,000 a year in supplemental revenue.
The project will employ proven techniques of entrepreneurship and microenterprise successfully used to produce grassroots economic growth internationally and more recently in the United States.
The Detroit Studio
www.ltu.edu/architecture_and_design/detroitstudio_projects.asp
The Detroit Studio is an urban design studio located in the New Center area of Detroit focused on Community Development Projects, Community Master Plans, Urban Farming, and Sustainable (Green) Community Economic Development Models that are scalable and replicable for other urban areas.
Its location in central Detroit creates a unique educational setting for students, and its long-term commitment to working with Detroit neighborhoods distinguishes it from the program of other local universities. The Detroit Studio is committed to serving communities in Detroit, Wayne County and Southeastern Michigan as part of the mission of a local university through Service Learning projects that utilize interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork to address real needs, problems and potentials.
The MISSION of The Detroit Studio is educational: to provide students with an enriched educational experience through community-based architectural, urban design and community development projects; and to offer accessible and useful programs and information to the public, the design profession, municipal officials and the business community.