“A New Model for Academic Entrepreneurship: Successes and Lessons”
A Summary Report of a Lecture by Dr. Harold J. Raveché, President of Stevens Institute of Technology
 Introduction
On July 16, 2008, Dr. Harold
J. Raveché, President of Stevens Institute of Technology, gave a
talk on the topic “A New Model for Academic Entrepreneurship:
Successes and Lessons” at NCKU. Welcomed by Dr. Da-Hsuan Feng,
Senior Executive Vice President, and Dr. Yonghua Tzeng, Vice
President, many faculty and students listened eagerly to his
informative talk and exchanged experiences on making the university
a birthplace for innovation.
Many critical issues were
addressed, and the following is a summary report of Dr. Harold J.
Raveché’s talk and the Q and A session.
Opening:
I hope that some of you may have a dream to start
your own company. It’s also very important for your country. New
companies create jobs. The message here I want to talk about is: We
do not believe in there is such thing as the “right model”. Every
university has to find its own way. There is no standard model.
What is entrepreneurship:
You can’t say I’m going
to do it in the morning, or in the afternoon. It’s a way of life. It
will not happen easily. Don’t think that you put your feet on the
desk that some grand idea will happen to you. That doesn’t work out.
A lot of hard work. The venture capital people, they lead a certain
way of life. Every move they make is about success. It’s a mindset.
I want to emphasize to the students: it’s a way of life. You must
persevere.
Why being innovative:
If you are just a
good engineer, or a good scientist, that is not enough. The chances
are you will be outsourced. Everyone is talking about China, today,
or India, tomorrow, that will be Vietnam, Ireland, Africa, South
America. That’s the nature of the global economy. Markets will move
where people are good engineers, and good scientists, who work for
less. And after a while, their salaries go up, and they will move
again. So if you want to ensure your future, you’ll have to bring
value to the organization that you join, whether it’s a university
or company. And hopefully, some of you will have the dream or
courage to start your own company. But, remember, you have to be a
good engineer or scientist, that’s a given. Not that you’re saying
you don’t know your field, but you must have more to offer than
that. And to be on the path of innovation means that you think and
you act orderly. It’s like a trained athlete, a great baseball
player, or basketball player. That’s the way you have to live. It’s
difficult.
So high-tech manufacturing is extremely important
for the future of Taiwan, whether it’s in pharmaceuticals,
semiconductors, or biomedical engineering. It is the future of your
country. And the strongest position you could have, in my view, in
talking with China, is through innovation. That would give you
strength. Innovation will give you enough strength. So you, the
students, you’re the future hope of your country. If you are not
innovative, your country will not be innovative. So your country is
looking to you to step up to that responsibility.
Innovation:
“The design, invention, development
and /or implementation (very important word) of new or improved
products, services, processes, systems, organizational structures,
or business models for the purpose of creating new value for
customers and financial returns for the university, the region and
the nation.”
Academic Entrepreneurship:
A new core
value: Academic Entrepreneurship. The mindset to take innovation and
the courage to take risks. Yes, you publish in the same journal as
your peers, but you have the courage and the passion to see if the
fruits of your research can be brought to benefit greater aspects of
the society. And that’s where the passion comes in.
Surviving rule of the market:
Bird's eye view of the Stevens Institute of Technology When
you go to Silicon Valley, with some of the companies are shown in
there, they never, ever, asked me about the technology. The two most
prestigious companies in the valley happen to be run by Stevens’
graduates. So, when I go, they assume the technology is valid,
otherwise I would be embarrassing myself. I will never be invited
back. So, what they asked me first was: “How big is the market?”
“What is it gonna to cost to enter that market?” “What’s the
competition?” And if I can’t answer those questions, in 10 seconds,
next guy! You’re out. Over. You won’t be invited back. That’s how
competitive it is. There are so many people waiting on line, waiting
with their ideas. So you have to understand the business context of
your inventions. You could be a great physicist, but if you don’t
understand how you work towards the market, you will not be
innovated.
Outcome of Academic Entrepreneurship:
This changes the learning environment, because it brings the
knowledge of the marketplace back into the learning environment. In
last August, the Business Week (August 30, 2007), a very
controversial article said: “Who Needs the Ivies?” The quote
“Schools like MIT and Stanford don’t graduate more founders of
companies than Stevens Institute of Technology or Arizona State
University.” It’s because of this environment. So when our students
graduate, they know how to grow the company they join or start their
own company.
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