The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business is adding the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization Program (MSTC) to its graduate degree offerings, Tom Gilligan, dean of the McCombs School, has announced.
“Bringing the MSTC program to McCombs further concentrates our focus on entrepreneurship and innovation,” Gilligan said.
The MSTC program accelerates technology commercialization by teaching students how to identify technologies with commercial viability, bring them to market and create wealth in the process. The program was conceived by the late George Kozmetsky, dean from 1966 to 1982, and introduced by the university’s IC2 Institute in 1996.
One of more than 550 graduates of the program, Doug Baum (MSTC 2007) is currently the chief operating officer of MacuCLEAR, a company that is developing a new technology for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Baum and his team learned about MacuCLEAR’s technology in the MSTC program and worked with the company for his class project.
“The MSTC was perfect for my goals,” Baum said. “Its action-based learning guides students through the process of developing a new technology company.”
Gary Cadenhead, director of MSTC, said “Whether students work for a large corporation or an entrepreneurial venture, the synergy from having intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs together in the same classroom multiplies the value of this educational experience. The MSTC program combines cutting-edge technology, entrepreneurship and education to bridge the gap between ideas and needs in the market resulting in the creation of new ventures.”
Gilligan announced last March the creation of Texas Venture Labs, a university-wide initiative to help students and faculty entrepreneurs start businesses by providing a faster, step-by-step way to bring their innovations to market. MSTC entrepreneurs will be taking advantage of this assistance as they start their ventures.
“At The University of Texas at Austin, we are proud of saying, ‘What starts here changes the world.’ Technology creatively commercialized provides a major way of changing the world and gaining competitive advantage in the process,” Cadenhead said.
McCombs School of Business is uniquely situated to focus on research and teaching processes that turn ideas into commercial and social value, Gilligan said. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reported that in 2009 the Austin area was awarded 37 percent of all patents in Texas. A May 2008 Kauffman Foundation report identifies The University of Texas at Austin as one of the top 10 schools for producing founders of startup companies.
More details on the MSTC program, including its process and how to apply, can be found online.
