The Engineering Entrepreneurial Program at Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan

摘要

Lawrence Technological University, a private undergraduate and graduate institution located in the center of the Detroit Metropolitan Area, has an enrollment of nearly 5,000 students in day and evening degree programs and continuing education/professional development programs. Lawrence Tech has been a dynamic partner to the Detroit area's engineering, manufacturing, and automotive industries for nearly 70 years. A factor that has contributed immeasurably to the success of Lawrence Tech students is the University's location in one of the most fertile areas of the nation for engineering entrepreneurial activity. Oakland County, Michigan, where Lawrence Tech is centrally located, has been labeled an "economic powerhouse," the site of more entrepreneurial activity than any other county in Michigan. In the two years between 1996 and 1998 the state received a USD400 million increase in venture capital, resulting in an increase in the number of start-up and relocation businesses representing technology and other industries. Between 1996 and 1998, there were a total of 38,578 new incorporations in Oakland County alone, approximately 42 percent of the new incorporations statewide. More than one-third of Michigan's R&D firms are located in Oakland County. Although more than 170 Fortune 500 companies do business in Oakland County, the work culture in the county, which traditionally focused on employment with the Big Three automotive companies, has broadened to smaller, technically advanced suppliers of services, materials, tooling, components and systems. This environment, offering a profusion of small and emerging entrepreneurial initiatives, provides a truly advantageous setting for an entrepreneurial program, and Lawrence Technological University offers the faculty, facilities, programs, students, and corporate contacts to make the program a resounding success. Lawrence Tech's entrepreneurial program draws from a pool of entrepreneurial business talent that is second to none. A grant from the Lear Corporation in 2002 established The Lear Entrepreneurial Center at Lawrence Tech. in order to develop and implement a comprehensive academic program that will help students integrate business and entrepreneurial skills with engineering technical skills.