Universities’ Role as Catalysts for Venture Creation
Universities are being asked to play an increasingly larger role in communities as catalysts for venture creation. Some universities have embraced taking an active role, often filling gaps in the local entrepreneurial environment, to induce venture creation. This chapter discusses the role the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, USA, has taken when partnering with local economic development entities in academic to practitioner-based activities. Over the last 12 years, UCF’s Office of Research and Commercialization (UCF ORC) has continuously worked on improving the process of getting ideas from the university laboratories and the community out to the market to help the community grow and flourish. UCF and a growing number of other universities are creating a suite of Entrepreneurial Support Entities (ESEs) that provide entrepreneurial help in all of a company’s development stages. This chapter presents the interactions among the ESEs, with UCF serving as an example to demonstrate the impact a university can have on its surroundings and on the community’s development. There are many examples of such interactions across the US at other universities as well.