Innovation sometimes comes from new combinations of existing ideas, and Wake Forest University has received a National Science Foundation grant to try some new combinations.
The $596,679 grant will enable Wake Forest to create a network of private sector, nonprofit and local government partnerships to launch new entrepreneurial ventures. Elizabeth Gatewood, director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts, and Deborah Best, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will direct the three-year project.
Gatewood said the project will build on and formalize a number of existing relationships between the academic community and key players in the Piedmont Triad’s efforts to reshape its economy through innovative new ventures in fields ranging from the life sciences and biotechnology to nanotechnology, new product design and even entertainment.
“This project marks the beginning of a new phase in the development of the entrepreneurship program at Wake Forest,” Gatewood said.
Partnering organizations are the Center for Design Innovation, the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, the Inception Micro Angel Fund, the N.C. Biotechnology Center, the N.C. Small Business Technology Development Center, the Piedmont Angel Network, the Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurs Network, the Piedmont Triad Research Park, Winston-Salem State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.