You may know about a competition on Oct. 17 - a football game pitting the West Virginia Mountaineers against the Marshall Thundering Herd. And that is where the competition between the state's two major research universities should end.
You may know about a competition on Oct. 17 - a football game pitting the West Virginia Mountaineers against the Marshall Thundering Herd. And that is where the competition between the state's two major research universities should end.
I'm not naïve. I realize there is a battle of sorts for students and resources. But when it comes to research, WVU and Marshall - as well as other state institutions, organizations, and businesses - need to play together. Research and technology development require collaboration.
In 2008, the University of Utah generated 23 start-up companies, second best of all universities in the nation. And the reason? Common vision, cooperation and collaboration. That is what Brian Cummings, the school's Executive Director of Technology Commercialization, said in an article on the Wisconsin Technology Network website. And collaboration among whom?
"Across many Utah groups and constituencies - the University, investor groups, entrepreneurs, State government, professional services sector, etc."
Unfortunately, we don't have enough of that in West Virginia. Don't get me wrong, we have collaboration. But like communication, no matter how much you have, it's never enough. In fact, an employee at a major technology organization in West Virginia, when asked about his company's statewide collaborations, recently said, "I wish I could name even one."
Fortunately, we can name many more than one. The state's universities, technology organizations, and businesses do indeed cooperate. I think it's useful to name a few (and appropriate to apologize for many left off the list).
For example, Ecer Technologies in Lewisburg, creator of a new light-emitting device, worked with researchers from Marshall and Marshall's Rahall Transportation Institute. (You will be able to see some of their work during the Create WV Conference in Huntington, where you also will be able to hear more about the importance of collaboration.) Another high-tech firm, Protea Biosciences in Morgantown, has collaborated with researchers at WVU. And a new, award-winning Electronic Commercial Drivers Licensing program was created in a joint effort between the state Division of Motor Vehicles and the Rahall Transportation Institute.
WVU routinely works with the National Energy Technology Laboratory and the Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The West Virginia biometrics firm SecurLinx worked with the High Technology Consortium Foundation on their highly touted AmberView system.
And yes, even WVU and Marshall collaborate. They have conducted joint projects in nanotechnology and biotechnology, for instance. In fact, three state universities - Marshall, WVU and West Virginia State University - recently received a joint $4.4 million award, and those three institutions plus the WVU Institute of Technology are cohorts on an EPSCoR grant. Even more impressive, the West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence is led by Marshall in conjunction with WVU and includes 12 state undergraduate research institutions.
You may know about a competition on Oct. 17 - a football game pitting the West Virginia Mountaineers against the Marshall Thundering Herd. And that is where the competition between the state's two major research universities should end.
I'm not naïve. I realize there is a battle of sorts for students and resources. But when it comes to research, WVU and Marshall - as well as other state institutions, organizations, and businesses - need to play together. Research and technology development require collaboration.
In 2008, the University of Utah generated 23 start-up companies, second best of all universities in the nation. And the reason? Common vision, cooperation and collaboration. That is what Brian Cummings, the school's Executive Director of Technology Commercialization, said in an article on the Wisconsin Technology Network website. And collaboration among whom?
"Across many Utah groups and constituencies - the University, investor groups, entrepreneurs, State government, professional services sector, etc."
Unfortunately, we don't have enough of that in West Virginia. Don't get me wrong, we have collaboration. But like communication, no matter how much you have, it's never enough. In fact, an employee at a major technology organization in West Virginia, when asked about his company's statewide collaborations, recently said, "I wish I could name even one."
Fortunately, we can name many more than one. The state's universities, technology organizations, and businesses do indeed cooperate. I think it's useful to name a few (and appropriate to apologize for many left off the list).
For example, Ecer Technologies in Lewisburg, creator of a new light-emitting device, worked with researchers from Marshall and Marshall's Rahall Transportation Institute. (You will be able to see some of their work during the Create WV Conference in Huntington, where you also will be able to hear more about the importance of collaboration.) Another high-tech firm, Protea Biosciences in Morgantown, has collaborated with researchers at WVU. And a new, award-winning Electronic Commercial Drivers Licensing program was created in a joint effort between the state Division of Motor Vehicles and the Rahall Transportation Institute.
WVU routinely works with the National Energy Technology Laboratory and the Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The West Virginia biometrics firm SecurLinx worked with the High Technology Consortium Foundation on their highly touted AmberView system.
And yes, even WVU and Marshall collaborate. They have conducted joint projects in nanotechnology and biotechnology, for instance. In fact, three state universities - Marshall, WVU and West Virginia State University - recently received a joint $4.4 million award, and those three institutions plus the WVU Institute of Technology are cohorts on an EPSCoR grant. Even more impressive, the West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence is led by Marshall in conjunction with WVU and includes 12 state undergraduate research institutions.
And if you're looking for more widespread efforts, look no further than The Industries of the Future (IOF-WV), a joint effort of WVU, the state Division of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy. One recent $5.8 million project included WVU, another university, a national lab, and 26 steel industry firms.
Now that's collaboration.
And it isn't enough?
No, it isn't enough.
Unfortunately, mention of research and technology collaborations among the state's universities, technical organizations, and businesses too often produces funny looks, rolling eyes and groans. Instead of collaborators, they too often consider themselves competitors.
During his prayer for Sen. Ted Kennedy's recent memorial, the Rev. Daniel Coughlin, describing Kennedy's ability to work on both sides of the aisle, said, "Competition can be converted to collaboration."
Not only can it be ... it needs to be.
DiGregorio is executive director of TechConnectWV and the Chemical Alliance Zone.
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