New program drives innovation and business creation

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BY Faculty of Engineering advancement

January 26, 2005

Engineers and organizations can now transform technical ideas into commercial ventures while developing entrepreneurial and business skills through a single, innovative program unique in North America.

McMaster's Faculty of Engineering is offering a new Master of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MEEi) degree program through the recently established Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship & Innovation (XCEEi).

“Engineers generate ideas and solutions to problems and opportunities every day,” says Rafik Loutfy, director of Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship & Innovation. “We need to encourage them, and their organizations, to go the next step and commercialize these solutions. That requires instilling a culture of entrepreneurship, providing the skills and knowledge for transferring ideas into products and services, and providing the practical experience of actually taking a project through to completion with a go-to-market plan.”

The MEEi program includes both classroom sessions and an engineering enterprise project, which is worked on in a new enterprise lab as well as at a sponsoring organization's work site. Ideas for projects are accepted from private or public sector sponsors, university engineering faculty sponsors and engineers wishing to pursue the development of their own ideas or inventions. Applications for fall 2005 enrollment are also being accepted.

“We're promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship with a very tangible goal, the development of new enterprises in Canada,” says Loutfy. “Successful societies throughout history have found the proper balance of entrepreneurship, business process and practical implementation. That's the premise this program is built on.”

Courses and technical direction on projects will be provided by the Faculty of Engineering and the DeGroote School of Business. The Centre also has developed an international partnership with The Manchester Science Enterprise Centre (MSEC), University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom to facilitate the exchange of students, faculty and knowledge.