Lawrence Tech, Technology Highway Team Up To Help Entrepreneurs
SOUTHFIELD -- Lawrence Technological University has entered an agreement with the business consultants at Technology Highway to foster a more entrepreneurial mindset at the university and help both students and faculty members bring new products to market.
Technology Highway will fulfill the role of LTU's Engineering Entrepreneur in Residence. By leveraging the talent and expertise of a team rather than one individual, Technology Highway will support a broader scope of entrepreneurial activity, according to Mark Brucki, LTU's executive director of economic development and government relations.
"We are confident that this team approach will be very productive for our students and faculty who want to commercialize products or processes they have developed through research," Brucki said in announcing the agreement.
The primary duties of Technology Highway through the EEIR/LTU Entrepreneurial Collaboratory include:
* Foster an entrepreneurial mindset among students and faculty.
* Develop an engaged network of area entrepreneurs and involve them in LTU events, academic programs and student projects.
* Advise start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs.
* Pursue additional funding for entrepreneurship programs.
* Assist in the commercialization process of student projects.
Francis "Tex" Criqui, a founder and principal of Technology Highway, will be the team leader. A 1976 mechanical engineering graduate of LTU who worked for General Motors for 40 years, he was regional director for an engineering consulting firm for five years and worked another five years as director of operations for a management consulting firm.
Criqui and the other Technology Highway consultants have extensive experience in technology and innovation, strategic planning, lifecycle management, product data management, process design and definition, standards and regulatory compliance, project management and organizational performance.
"In addition to the significant business experience of Technology Highway consultants, we have developed a clear understanding of what innovators and new startups must do to successfully commercialize their ideas," Criqui said. "Our involvement with various regional support organizations -- from coaching and mentoring new ventures at GLEQ (Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest), to advising businesses at the Macomb-OU INCubator and providing judges and mentors for the annual SAE-MIT Enterprise Forum -- all have sharpened our tool set and prepared us to accomplish the goals of the EEIR/LTU Entrepreneurial Collaboratory."
More at www.ltu.edu
