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Temple University Council on Entrepreneurship Launches 2005-2006 Activities

As the 20th most entrepreneurial campus in the nation (Princeton Review/Forbes.com, 2004), Temple cultivates innovation in every school and college. The Temple University Council on Entrepreneurship (TUCE) was formed to foster and promote the entrepreneurial spirit throughout the University and to actively encourage and assist the development of new ventures in the Greater Philadelphia region by the students, faculty staff and alumni. The Council is comprised of representatives of Temple’s 17 schools and colleges, several centers and university offices, and campus-wide organizations – a rare model that other universities are sure to follow. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI) within the Fox School of Business coordinates TUCE’s activities and serves as a university-wide resource for “all things entrepreneurial.”

The Council has kicked off the academic year with 2 group brainstorming sessions, which have led to the collaborative development of two upcoming conferences – one on funding entrepreneurial ventures in the life sciences and biotechnology (November 15), and another on entrepreneurship in the visual and performing arts (October 28). TUCE is also building a stronger communications network throughout the university, for entrepreneurial programs and events. TUCE representatives are promoting participation in the Temple University Business Innovation Competition, a three-stage event which begins with the Innovative Idea Competition in September and culminates with the business plan competition in May and the international venture fair in June.

Temple’s IEI is increasing significantly its entrepreneurial focus on on science and technology and is enhancing its collaboration with the extensive scientific community at Temple. Near future plans include the establishment of a science & technology student venture fund, special incubation spaces for science and technology start-ups and enhanced programming aiming the life sciences and computer sciences.

TUCE, IEI and Temple’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) together with undergraduate and graduate student entrepreneurship clubs are offering a large array of courses, seminars, speaker-series and workshops covering all aspects of entrepreneurship and business plan preparation. All events are offered free and are open to students, faculty, staff and alumni of Temple University, and many are open to the community. An active network of mentors -- successful entrepreneurs and senior executives from all industries -- complements the extensive network of entrepreneurial resources available throughout the campus.

IEI’s Executive Director Chris Pavlides is justifiably proud of what has been achieved.   He says “the E-Team is working very hard to inspire students and councel aspiring entrepreneurs. It is a team effort and the results are very gratifying, but there is a lot more to achieve yet. The real metric of our success would be the increasing number of start ups incubated and released in the community with a high probability of success. The establishment and activation of the Temple University Council on Entrepreneurship has added significant momentum to the work of Temple’s E-Team”.

 

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