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Regional Innovation Clusters (2nd of a Series)

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Blog Post #2: What do Regional Innovation Clusters Look Like?

Previously, we discussed “Regional Innovation Clusters” and why they an important driver of economic growth.  The Brookings Institute posits that “clusters generate powerful synergies in local economies by organizing, matching, and linking the key actors and assets.”

The question then becomes, what characteristics are associated with Regional Innovation Clusters?  The same report cited several examples as evidence that biotechnology, and other technology-based companies, are likely to be much more innovative if they are located in a clusters with strong specializations in their own technologies.

In its recent study of regionalism, the Council on Competitiveness emphasized the three “Cs” of  successful regional collaboration: connection, converstaion, and capacity.  Its assertion that “regionalism is a contact sport best pursued through personal interactions at every stage of the game”  especially rings true in a highly innovative economy where most projects are multi-disciplinary in their approach.

Capacity building, as related to regional clusters, involves leveraging assets that a particular region has to offer and connecting them with start-up companies.  Connecting start-ups to professional services and universities can then lead to connections with key capital resources.   The common denominator of the renewable energy industry in Colorado, the battery industry in Michigan and Indiana’s own life sciences industry cluster is not only are they regional innovation clusters, but that they are all also highly integrated with strong research universities that closely support the cluster.

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Regional Innovation Clusters (1st of a Series)

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Blog Post #1: What are Regional Innovation Clusters?

What does the renewable energy industry in Colorado, the battery industry in Michigan, and Indiana’s own life sciences industry all have in common?  All of these are regional industry clusters, and perhaps more importantly, they are highly innovative “Regional Innovation Clusters.”

A recent study by the Brookings Institute entitled The New Cluster Moment: How Regional Innovation Clusters can Foster the Next Economy identified the importance of thinking differently about economic development.  The study reinforced the idea, as the recent recession reminded us all, that a new approach to economic development is needed; an approach that depends less on bubbles and consumption.  Brookings’ answer, as well as many others, is “Regional Innovation Clusters.”

What is a regional innovation cluster?  The idea of “clusters” as a tool for economic development was introduced by Michael Porter, the famed Harvard Business School professor twenty years ago.  A cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected firms and supporting or coordinating organizations and associated institutions, such as  universities.

The Brookings study recognized regional economies and clusters as “hot spots of productivity and collaboration” and are innovation and opportunity driven.  In the end, supporting cluster development will promote growth in productivity, wages and jobs.   Perhaps Porter himself said it best when wrote, “there is no national economy…but a series of regional economies that trade with each other and the rest of the world”.

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IU Bloomington Awarded Carnegie Classification Recognizing Community Engagement

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Indiana University Bloomington has been selected for 2010 Community Engagement Classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recognizing the campus’s commitment to engagement through teaching, research, service and partnerships.

For IU Bloomington, engagement includes economic development assistance for the state of Indiana, arts and cultural programming, service-learning and community volunteerism, international studies and partnerships, research in areas such as health and education, and other activities.

Campus-wide engagement activities are centered in the Office of Service-Learning; the Office of the Vice President for Engagement; the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs; the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs; and the Student Activities Office.

For example, the Office of Student-Learning offers dozens of courses in which students learn in partnership with community organizations; the Office of the Vice President for Engagement connects IU’s capacity for invention, innovation and creativity with Indiana’s economic priorities; and the Student Activities Office works with hundreds of student organizations, many of which perform service.

I had the opportunity to participate among the core team of IUB administrators, faculty, staff and community members involved in documenting engagement activities across the campus for the application.   This intensive process illustrated the depth and breadth of the activities, programs, and initiatives at IU Bloomington that positively impact the community, from local to global in scope. 

The full press release with additional details can be accessed here: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/print/16933.html

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Indiana CTSI: Collaborating to Benefit Indiana and Beyond

Posted on by innovate indiana

This blog written by: Dr. Anantha Shekhar, Director of the Indiana CTSI.

Since its beginning in 2008, the Indiana CTSI has been leveraging the assets of Indiana’s three major universities and many community partners to further science and benefit the health of people in Indiana. Indiana CTSI is a collaborative effort with Indiana University, University of Notre Dame, Purdue University and community partners such as Clarian Health, Eli Lilly and BioCrossroads. With the three universities and the community partners working together, it makes CTSI Indiana’s only truly statewide clinical institute. Indiana CTSI has accomplished much in just three short years. In August of 2010 CTSI awarded nearly $1.2 million in funding to 27 physicians and scientists. The scientists are leading the way in researching such diseases as breast cancer traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s diseases. CTSI has also, in a joint effort with IU Pervasive Technology Institute and Cook Medical Group, created a website to assist both  inventors and technology transfer professionals.

This website is an online service that matches inventors and technology transfer professionals with companies looking to develop their inventions into commercially viable products. Linking researchers with the appropriate industry personnel contact quickly will advance new innovative medical technologies to patients much more quickly. In three short years, CTSI has made a significant impact. There is little doubt we will continue to make an impact on the lives of the people of Indiana. Find out more here about Indiana CTSI

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Connect with IU: Center for the Study of Global Change

Posted on by Bill Stephan

From the Center for the Study of Global Change website:

The Center for the Study of Global Change has embraced three major challenges: to contribute to the comprehensive internationalization of Indiana University; to promote wider analysis and innovative thinking about global issues by extending the intellectual reach of Indiana University regionally, nationally, and internationally; and to create a supportive environment for innovations in teaching, learning, and research in global studies.

The Center for the Study of Global Change maintains a strong commitment to interdisciplinary study and research and consciously encourages the crossing of academic disciplinary boundaries. Our educational programs and research encompass topics of global importance and our emphasis on “change” sets a foundation for the academic exploration of dynamic, transnational, complex, and multi-faceted phenomena. Symposiums, faculty study groups, courses, workshops, and academic programs explore a variety of topics, such as societal and democratic transformations, the interplay of power, health, and culture, environmental change and international policy, nationalisms and language, global securities and insecurities, and multidisciplinary human rights, from both multidisciplinary and regional perspectives.

Teaching and learning is at the heart of the mission of the Global Center, which is engaged in a systematic and sustained effort of infusing global perspectives in undergraduate, graduate, and K-12 teaching. The Center for the Study of Global Change promotes collaboration and innovation as central to all our curricular, research, and outreach programs, as well as in the wide range of conferences, exhibits, and other events that explore and provide education on issues of global significance.

Read more here

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George F. Will – Rev the scientific engine

Posted on by tony armstrong

Great article from the WSJ.

New Republican legislators should come down Capitol Hill to the National Museum of American History, which displays a device that in 1849 was granted U.S. patent 6469. It enabled a boat’s “draught of water to be readily lessened” so it could “pass over bars, or through shallow water.”

George F. Will – Rev the scientific engine.

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Challenges Facing Medical Innovation in the US

Posted on by tony armstrong

While the United States has long been recognized worldwide as the leader in medical innovation, new studies show that we may be losing our global edge.  The foremost challenges facing U.S. medical innovation were recently identified in a comprehensive report of the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice commissioned by the Council for American Medical Innovation.  Activities and initiatives currently underway at Indiana University can help contribute to addressing the four major challenges cited in this report.  

Read the report

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IU Faculty Member Michael Kubek – Making a Difference

Posted on by tony armstrong

Over the past 30 years, scientists have synthesized a series of neuropeptides (like those occurring naturally in the brain) that offer huge potential for treating neurological diseases—from depression to Alzheimer’s. But there’s a problem: these neuropeptides are metabolized on their way to the brain. Working at the IU School of Medicine, Professor Michael Kubek and collaborators have come up with a new way to deliver neuropeptides—directly through the nose to the brain using nanoparticles that biodegrade at a rate proportional to the delivery of the drug. The results are promising. IURTC has helped Professor Kubek and his team file for and receive a patent for their discoveries.

 Find out more about Dr. Kubek’s work

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Connect with IU: Center on Philanthropy

Posted on by Bill Stephan

 

From the Center on Philanthropy website:

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University is a leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice through research, teaching, public service and public affairs. Founded in 1987, the Center is a part of the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The Center was founded as the result of the convergence of two ideas. First, some people recognized the need to professionalize fundraising and to create a permanent, university-based home for The Fund Raising School. Others were interested in building knowledge about the philanthropy field through an inter-disciplinary approach grounded in the liberal arts. These ideas, and the goal of bringing scholars and practitioners together to learn from each other, are the founding principles that remain the bedrock of our mission.

Today, the Center boasts a thriving research program that informs the work of nonprofit professionals throughout the world. Academic programs related to philanthropy and nonprofit management are attracting from a diverse group of highly talented students. And The Fund Raising School continues to be the premier international university-based education and training program for fundraisers.

Read more here

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IU Envisions Tech Corridor along Bypass | TradingMarkets.com

Posted on by Bill Stephan

Go to other universities and their tech parks are literally miles away from the center of campus, where, in our case, our tech park is literally on the perimeter of campus”.

Read about the Teachnology Corridor here