09-10-2008

Grant Fosters Entrepreneurship

Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC) has received a $200,000 Keystone Innovation Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to assist in helping faculty and students create new technologies and business opportunities. The grant marks the third consecutive year that the CTTEC has been awarded the maximum grant from the DCED. In 2006, the CTTEC was awarded $250,000, followed by $200,000 in 2007. This year’s grant is one of 23 grants awarded to Pennsylvania colleges and universities totaling $3.5 million.

Over the last three years during which time the university began to offer enhanced services to support its growing entrepreneurial activities, 32 spin-off companies have been created with university-related technology, including 14 in Fiscal Year 2006, eight in FY 2007 and 10 in FY 2008.  Over the past 15 years, the university’s technology transfer operation has helped to spin out nearly 200 companies.

“Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Technology and Enterprise Creation has enabled many successes in transferring university developed technology to commercial enterprise; including a substantial amount to new small, medium and large regional companies, thereby supporting economic growth in Pennsylvania,” said CTTEC Director Robert Wooldridge.

Bruce Gerson