UNC Business Students to Work With NASA Patents in Spring Courses

The University of Northern Colorado's Monfort College of Business will integrate NASA's Technology Transfer University curriculum into two spring courses, giving students hands-on experience developing business plans around NASA patents and pitching their concepts to NASA representatives and local business leaders.

This spring, students from multiple majors will form teams in two courses—Managing New Business Ventures and Fundamentals of Project Management—and select from more than 1,600 NASA patents in medicine, manufacturing, and environmental technology to develop commercialization strategies, according to UNC News.

For Greeley companies, the program offers potential partners for commercializing student ideas. Derrek Jerred, economic development director for the city of Greeley, says applying NASA solutions to "agriculture, energy extraction or even medical uses—especially with the new UNC College of Osteopathic Medicine—creates a lot of potential when you bring the right people to the table."

"Greeley has a strong mix of companies with real capabilities in manufacturing, technical expertise and supply chain support that are worth tapping into to help students turn ideas into solutions," Jerred said.

The program is designed to give students a concrete edge in a competitive job market.

"When one of our graduates sits across from a hiring manager and says, 'I worked on a NASA patent,' that is a differentiator," said Moe Manshad, Ph.D., associate professor and instructor in one of the courses. "That is the kind of experience that makes employers pay attention."

Steve Elias, Ph.D., dean of the Monfort College of Business, previously directed a similar T2U program at Fort Lewis College—the only other Colorado institution using T2U. He says the initiative will give UNC students "a significant leg up when they graduate and look to begin their careers."

According to UNC, the program begins this spring, though NASA's public roster of T2U participating institutions has not yet been updated to reflect UNC's involvement.

Elias says he hopes to expand the program to additional majors and deepen industry involvement in future semesters.