Innovate@Carolina supports entrepreneurship, research

This story appeared as part of the 2010 Year In Review issue. The Daily Tar Heel resumes publication Jan. 10.

In the fall of 2010, Chancellor Holden Thorp weaved innovation into the fiber of the University.

A plan called Innovate@Carolina, launched with a $125 million budget near the beginning of the semester, urges students and faculty to pursue innovation and to look at projects from a more entrepreneurial point of view.

And that plan is under a lot of pressure: It’s the brainchild of Thorp, who has a mission of making innovation his lasting legacy at UNC.

In fact, he even co-authored a book on the subject, titled “Engines of Innovation.”

“He’s the chancellor, and this is his baby,” economics professor John Akin said in September.

Thorp, a former chemistry professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC, co-founded drug company Viamet Pharmaceuticals and holds more than a dozen patents. In 2001, he was named one of the top innovators by Fortune Small Business magazine.

In an Oct. 28 speech, Thorp said a broad, liberal arts education like the one UNC requires for students is the basis of an entrepreneurial spirit — and that students must strive to innovate and succeed.

To that end, senior Shruti Shah is leading a student team charged by Thorp with promoting innovation among its peers, and a minor in entrepreneurship that began in 2005 has received increased visibility since the launch of the Innovate@Carolina plan.

“My hope is that the roadmap gets students to think about academics and extracurricular activities,” Shah said.

Innovate@Carolina also coincides with the larger-scale revamp of the University’s academic plan this year, which will influence the way UNC administrators and professors approach the education of students for the foreseeable future.

For students, a passion for entrepreneurship is often begun while at school, and the University recognizes that the teachers most likely to spawn that type of passion are ones who have it themselves.

Shah said that there will be an increased focus on social entrepreneurship next semester, in addition to the research side of innovation.

UNC received a record $803 million in research funding for the 2010-11 fiscal year — up 12 percent despite the poor economy. And last year, 62 percent of graduating seniors participated in research, marking a five-percent increase.

Many of those students got the opportunity through a trickle-down of funds from grants faculty receive, Pat Pukkila, director of the Office for Undergraduate Research, said in September.

“We are a research university, but the feeling in the air is that everybody can get in on it,” Pukkila said. “Students are starting earlier, they’re not holding back. They see they can think on their own.”

But many projects could be in danger because of impending budget cuts.

The Office of Technology Development handles patent applications coming out of UNC, often overseeing marketing and even the formation of new companies.

It generally accepts 130 to 150 applications per year, and its 13-member staff is currently working on more than 1,000 projects.

But as UNC faces cuts as high as 15 percent next year, the number of applications it accepts could go down if either the number of staff or the hours they work is cut.

That would mean that potentially successful projects and businesses could be stopped before they even get the chance to start.

But there is an optimistic feeling in the air, despite the economy. UNC’s research funding has increased for 14 consecutive years, and the University plans to push innovation even harder next semester.

“This is the first taste of it,” Shah said.

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