The Ball State University Entrepreneurship Center is providing business students with something they can't find many other places: exposure to technology and advanced science.
Next semester, business students in a consulting class will be partnering with the Department of Defense and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division for the Military 2 Market program. They will develop commercial uses for military technology, Michael Goldsby, the Entrepreneurship Center's executive director, said.
"I don't know of any other school doing this," he said. "I hope [the Entrepreneurship Center] becomes a place in the Midwest that other places don't have."
The technology students will be working with was originally designed for battlefield applications. They have a clear use for soldiers. Students' challenge is to find the market for them to be used.
Goldsby said he grew up near the Crane Division in southwest Indiana and knew some of the people who work there. After a few meetings and a trip there with students, he was able to set up the partnership.
"I used my social network to get the foot in the door," he said. "It's the old entrepreneur approach."
John Dement, the technology engagement officer at the Crane Division, is overseeing the technology transfer. He said he's excited to have outside groups look at their technology and develop potential markets.
"We're taking what taxpayers already paid for and pushing back for economic development," he said.
Dement hopes students are able to develop business plans to take to competitions. If the plans are good enough, they could find people willing to fund their new uses. He said this could create new businesses and help existing businesses with new technology.
"This should have more people learning about who Crane is, but if not, hopefully it will be a great learning experience for students," he said.
Right now the Military 2 Market program is on a pilot run for about a year and a half. A team of three seniors and at least one junior will start things. Then the junior will write a plan for his or her senior year. Goldsby said he hopes at least one really good idea will come out of this.
Both Goldsby and Dement said that they have high expectations for the program. They said it was a win-win situation.
"We see technology as a solution to a problem," Goldsby said. "Our challenge is to find the market to make the solution work."
Definition: Military 2 Market is a partnership between the Ball State Entrepreneurship Center and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. Ball State students next semester will be developing commercial uses for military technology.
Entrepreneurship Center: As part of the Miller College of Business, students work towards a major, minor or master's degree in entrepreneurship. They get hands-on experience in business as part of their classes.
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division: This is a shore command center for the U.S. Navy. They "provide rapid response [and] technical solutions to meet the mission needs of the Warfighter," according to their Web site. Their headquarters is in Crane, Indiana, which is in the southwest part of the state.
When: Starting next semester. Right now it is on a pilot run for a year and a half, but if it's successful this can be expanded.
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