Abstract
In 2013, the University of Strathclyde became the first Scottish university to receive the prestigious THES UK Entrepreneurial University of the Year award. In this article, I describe how successful technology commercialization education in this leading UK-based technological university is deeply dependent on the state of the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Two case studies illustrate the relatively minor “supporting” role that conventional teaching plays in the practice of technology commercialization, and the major role that a comprehensive university entrepreneurial ecosystem can play. Lessons drawn from teaching and learning technology commercialization at the University of Strathclyde are discussed. These include “teaching by stealth” through the ecosystem, basing students’ class assignments on their own technology, and the use of local role models in class. I conclude by summarizing today’s challenges and opportunities facing Strathclyde’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0179&type=P. Accessed 25 July 2013.
http://www.strath.ac.uk/about/universityoftheyear/. Accessed 25 July 2013.
http://www.strath.ac.uk/businessorganisations/licensingspin-outs/spin-outcompanies/. Accessed 25 July 2013.
References
Argyris, C. (1993). Knowledge for action: A guide to overcoming barriers to organizational change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Argyris, C. (2002). Double-loop learning, teaching, and research. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 1(2), 206–218.
Barr, S. H., Baker, T., Markham, S. K., & Kingon, A. (2009). Bridging the valley of death: Lessons learned from 14 years of commercialization of technology education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 8, 370–388.
Bosma, N., & Levie, J. (2010). Global entrepreneurship monitor 2009 global report (p. 72). London: Global Entrepreneurship Research Association.
Carnegie, A. (1905). James Watt. Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier.
Clark, B. (1998). Creating entrepreneurial universities: Organizational pathways of transformation. Bingley: Emerald.
Clark, B. (2004). Sustaining change in universities: Continuities in case studies and concepts. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Costa, S. (2013). Business model change and performance of early-stage entrepreneurial firms. Babson college entrepreneurial research conference, Lyon, June.
Costa, S., & Levie, J. (2012). Business model change in early-stage entrepreneurial firms facing high uncertainty. Strategic management society conference, Prague, August.
Harris, J. (2013). Spinouts UK 2013. Glasgow: Young Company Finance.
Hart, R. (1859). Reminiscences of James Watt. Transactions of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, 1(1), 1–7.
Katz, J. A. (2003). The chronology and intellectual trajectory of American entrepreneurship education: 1876–1999. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(2), 283–300.
Muirhead, J. (1858). The life of James Watt with selections from his correspondence. London: John Murray.
O’Brien, J. (2002). Watt, James, 1736–1819, engineer and inventor. http://www.gashe.ac.uk:443/isaar/P0311.html.
Pittaway, L., & Hannon, P. (2008). Institutional strategies for developing enterprise education: A review of some concepts and models. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 15(1), 202–226.
Rasmussen, E. A., & Sørheim, R. (2006). Action-based entrepreneurship education. Technovation, 26(2), 185–194.
Wright, M., Piva, E., Mosey, S., & Lockett, A. (2009). Academic entrepreneurship and business schools. Journal of Technology Transfer, 34, 560–587.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levie, J. The university is the classroom: teaching and learning technology commercialization at a technological university. J Technol Transf 39, 793–808 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-014-9342-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-014-9342-2
Keywords
- University technology commercialization
- Entrepreneurship education
- University entrepreneurial ecosystems