Page 45 - Technology and Innovation Journal - 19-1

DARTMOUTH PHD INNOVATION PROGRAM 383

this regard due to a long history of integrating the and Holekamp and Crump Funds have supported
practical aspects of market analysis and business additional PhD Innovation Program students.
planning into interdisciplinary engineering design Recruiting
project coursework at the undergraduate level. Guest
lectures are presented by visiting entrepreneurs, ven- A core requirement for students selected for our
ture capitalists, and inventors. An enterprise plan program is the same as the regular Ph.D. program—
based on the development and commercialization of strong promise for academic success in coursework
novel technology research is developed and presented and research. The overlay emphasis on business and
to a panel of experts for a grade. Students report on entrepreneurship coursework and activities must not
their projects both orally and in written form and come at the expense of rigor in advanced engineering
are graded on a pass-fail basis. sciences coursework and performance in the adviser’s
lab, whether on the adviser’s or the student’s own
Financial Constructs and Administration research. While the core requirements are the same,
The program director oversees the program with the challenge in recruiting is finding students who
guidance from the dean of the engineering school have characteristics and interests that go beyond the
and assistance from the assistant dean for academic core. The way we look at this has changed in a subtle
and student affairs. In most cases, five full years of manner over the first few years of the program as
funding support the student through the completion students come into and successfully complete the
of the Ph.D. in engineering, advance the adviser’s program. Initially, the assumption was that a per-
research agenda, and support the student’s innovation centage of the Ph.D. candidate population either has
training and personal research agenda. PhD Inno- a strong interest in entrepreneurship or a research
vation Program students are supported by graduate idea they want to develop, and this type of student
research assistantships for the first two years of the was the main target for the program. Our program
program, which are funded via adviser-secured grants is the only one that combines research and entrepre-
or fellowships. In this period of the program, course- neurship in such an integrated fashion, and finding
work and professional skill-building is emphasized as ideal candidates has been challenging. In addition,
adviser-directed research ramps up, and the student because the program is unique and very selective,
is part of a thriving research lab while nurturing
their own novel research ideas. In the third year, prospective students can be intimidated by the pro-
gram description and requirements.
research focus shifts from being adviser-directed to
being candidate-directed, and fellowship funding is We have noted that many of our own faculty
provided through Thayer School in support of the entrepreneurs are what one might call “adventitious
candidate’s research agenda. In addition, in years entrepreneurs” who did not necessarily pre-medi-
three through five, the school makes up to $10,000 tate an entrepreneurial role, and that, perhaps, is the
in supplies and equipment funding available per year more common story for engineers with advanced
per student for research activity that is divergent from degrees. Recognizing this, we expanded the target
their adviser’s own research and which furthers their and messaging beyond speaking to students ready
innovation and enterprise-building endeavors. for entrepreneurship or bent on commercialization
Funding to start the program was raised through to include those that are interested in preparing for
philanthropy. Grants and fellowships that align with this opportunity down the road and broadening
the program’s objectives have been employed as their future options. This change supports what we
funding sources. For example, a Luce Foundation always knew: All engineers will benefit from addi-
grant has been employed to support development tional training in business and entrepreneurship. To
of women through the program, and a National Sci- cast the net more widely, we have employed highly
ence Foundation Partnerships for Innovation grant targeted tactics such as recruiting through alumni
funded student collaboration with existing small and faculty networks and from within our own pool
business enterprises. Thayer’s Energy Challenge Ini- of existing students, but also broader tactics such as
tiative has supported students in the field of energy, posters and Facebook ads to reach Ph.D. prospects at