New Center Name, Academic Offerings Drive Entrepreneurship to Greater Heights
November 18, 2011
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore's Merrick School of Business is continuing to push the concept of entrepreneurship and business innovation to a higher standard by introducing enhanced capabilities and greater challenges for those students, alumni and others who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurial activities. Capitalizing on its position as a leader in helping area small businesses and start-ups gain traction in highly competitive markets, Merrick is preparing to launch its newly rechristened Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a thriving resource for expertise in starting and growing a business. The center, located on the first floor of the school's home in the William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center, 11 W. Mt. Royal Ave., features incubator space, professional expertise and networking opportunities for technology companies, retailers and other outfits in the planning stages or just getting underway.
In addition, the school is preparing a fall 2013 launch of a new master's level program, Innovation Management and Technology Commercialization. The program, leading to a master of science degree, will address one of the University System of Maryland's Strategic Plan 2010-2020 themes, "advancing Maryland's competitiveness in the new economy," and provide a solution to the state's pressing need for a larger pool of managerial talent in its burgeoning technology sector.
"If Maryland is to become a mid-Atlantic answer to Silicon Valley, our institutions of higher education must play an active role in preparing those who will steer these companies in the coming years," said Darlene Smith, dean of the Merrick School of Business. "We see our role as helping to find those talented people, either new to the field or in the midst of enhancing their management skills, and showing them the essentials of making all kinds of Maryland-based technology firms profitable, innovative, and great places to work. Obviously there is more than one model for tech firms to pursue, and our expertise is in providing that foundational knowledge and much more to our master’s candidates."
Some of these future graduates will seek out management positions at existing technology businesses, Smith added, while others will create companies of their own. Many will use the resources of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation as a home base for their exploratory work.
"Either way, it’s a step up for our state, which already has a solid history of privately-owned firms in this sector, whether it's biotechnology, the defense and security industries, or gaming and simulation, chip makers and so on. Linking our expertise to technology innovators is a natural for us."
Updates on the development of Merrick's Innovation Management and Technology Commercialization program will be provided in the coming months.
Check out coverage of the proposed program in the Nov. 18 edition of the Baltimore Business Journal.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Public Affairs and the Merrick School of Business.