UNH picked for innovative tech program

DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire was one of 14 U.S. colleges and universities selected by the National Scien0ce Foundation's National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter) to join its program to examine and implement best practices to fully incorporate innovation and entrepreneurship into undergraduate engineering education. The selected teams will join a community of 36 institutional teams that are already in the program.

During the program, UNH's team of faculty and academic leaders will assess the university's current offerings, design a strategy for change, and lead their peers in a process to broaden and strengthen campus-based innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems. To aid in this process, the team will have access to models for integrating entrepreneurship into the engineering curriculum, custom online resources, networking opportunities and guidance from a community of engineering and entrepreneurship faculty, and membership in a national network of schools with similar goals.

Kevin Short, university professor and professor of mathematics, and Marc Sedam, associate vice provost of innovation and new ventures and managing director of UNHInnovation, will co-lead the UNH team. Other members include Andrew Earle from the Paul College of Business and Economics and May-Win Thien from the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

"When first approached about the Pathways to Innovation Program, I was immediately impressed that the program is designed to bring together on an institutional level many of the ideals that I have been trying to impart to my students over the past two decades," said Short. "This is a program that promotes a unique way of thinking about innovation and entrepreneurship by including these principles in the classroom and I believe that it represents one of the best ways for the university to contribute to our graduates' career development and to society."

"The Pathways to Innovation Program provides a framework to develop an enhanced vision for our campus," said Sedam. "Participation is a significant win for UNH and is backed by a strong commitment to university-wide collaboration and many existing entrepreneurial and commercialization activities, including the formal launch of our Entrepreneurship Center. The program will help UNH harness these efforts and take advantage of best practices from other universities across the country to deliver effective co-curricular activities and weave exposure to entrepreneurship throughout CEPS and beyond."