Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation

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The Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation was launched with an initial $20 million gift from Gururaj Deshpande and Jaishree Deshpande. The Center will be a part of MIT's School of Engineering.

The Center will award $15+ million in grants over next five years directly into MIT research, and is sponsoring research in broad range of areas, including Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Tiny Technologies. The center also partners with investors, entrepreneurs, and local industry to help commercialize MIT technology.

The center will fund research on novel technologies in collaboration with the high technology and venture capital communities of New England and will support undergraduate education in engineering practice.

Contents 1 Charter 2 Beneficiaries 3 Current Activities 3.1 Grant Program 3.2 Catalyst Program 3.3 i-Teams Course 4 Events 4.1 Innovation Calendar 4.2 Faculty Entrepreneurship Workshops 4.3 Ignition Forums 4.4 IdeaStream Symposium 5 See also

[edit] Charter

The Center has the following charter:

Nurture marketable inventions by:

• Engaging established industry to spark inventions that solve existing needs
• Funding proof-of-concept explorations with Ignition Grants

Fuels market-driven innovation by:

• Funding research with innovation grants
• Getting the business community involved at an early stage to help shape the direction of research
• Educating the research community about commercialization to focus efforts in the right areas

Implements innovation in the marketplace by:

• Catalyzing collaborations with partner companies and entrepreneurs
• Directing researchers to appropriate business and entrepreneurial resources
• Serving as a liaison between MIT and the local business community
• Showcasing MIT technologies via symposia and workshops

[edit] Beneficiaries

The Deshpande Center benefits:

• MIT innovators -- faculty, staff and students gain the opportunity to move their ideas forward and take risks.

• Venture capitalists can participate more in the innovation process, with less risk. The Deshpande Center helps advance ideas beyond proof of concept, reducing the element of uncertainty.

• Entrepreneurial companies can more easily recognize, collaborate on, and gain from, innovative research.

[edit] Current Activities

[edit] Grant Program

Over the next five years, the Center will apply $15 million to innovative research at MIT.

[edit] Catalyst Program

The Center partners with local entrepreneurs, investors, students, the Technology Licensing Office, and the MIT Entrepreneurship Center to bring our funded projects to market.

[edit] i-Teams Course

The Deshpande Center has partnered with the Entrepreneurship Center to select high-performance graduate-level student teams that evaluate commercial feasibility for five research projects selected each semester.

[edit] Events

Through the annual IdeaStream Symposium, faculty entrepreneurship workshops, and other events, the Center will help catalyze market-focused innovation and showcase new MIT technologies.

[edit] Innovation Calendar

We've created a comprehensive calendar of events beyond the Deshpande Center associated with entrepreneurship, innovation and invention. Please return often to view updates.

[edit] Faculty Entrepreneurship Workshops

Faculty workshops offer practical and anectdotal information tailored to the needs of faculty about commercializing technology and starting companies. Open to MIT faculty only.

[edit] Ignition Forums

Ignition Forums bring together the MIT research and local business communities for a panel discussion and networking around specific industries. Open to the entire community.

[edit] IdeaStream Symposium

The annual invitation-only conference brings together top-name VCs, entrepreneurs, and MIT faculty to exchange ideas about innovation and entrepreneurship.

[edit] See also

• Deshpande Center
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• MIT 50K Entrepreneurship Competition