Great ideas are discovered through hard work. The quest that takes the idea from the discovery stage to development stage of our innovation pipeline is one that is served best with collaboration and resources. One of EngenuitySC’s primary focus areas is to guide activities that will connect the local business community to our higher education institutions and research universities. That way we can help connect the ideas that universities generate to the public so they can in-turn help other businesses.
Our higher education institutions – particularly the major research institutions – are some of the most important assets we have in building the knowledge economy. Higher education institutions provide two essential ingredients that fuel the entrepreneurial ecosystem: researchers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will have a concentration of great thinking and act as a hub for the innovation pipeline.
There are numerous resources in Columbia. We are home to 16 colleges and universities, including the state’s flagship research university, the University of South Carolina. Because of our abundant resources, the University of South Carolina is attracting the world’s top professors, scientists, students and entrepreneurs to Columbia, SC. Through its new innovation district called Innovista (link to internal Innovista page), the University is supporting research initiatives in nanotechnology, health sciences, Future Fuels™.
A critical component of this process is creating the requisite interaction between researchers and entrepreneurs. EngenuitySC helps guide activities that will connect the local business community to research activities. A major component of this effort is the development of Innovista, the University of South Carolina’s innovation district that has created a unique urban environment where living and learning are seamlessly integrated. In addition, legislation such as the SC Centers for Economic Excellence program, the life sciences act, and the research universities infrastructure act, help to create an environment that fosters breakthrough research.
The South Carolina Life Science Act and Venture Capital Investment Act were enacted into law on April 6, 2004. This legislation offers a series of incentives and funding opportunities for life science companies and the state's research universities. Highlights of the new legislation include:
The S.C. Centers of Economic Excellence Programs established by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2002, funded through South Carolina Education Lottery proceeds. The legislation authorizes the state's three public research institutions, the Medical University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and the University of South Carolina, to use state funds to create Centers of Economic Excellence in research areas that will advance South Carolina's economy. Each Center of Economic Excellence is awarded from $2 million to $5 million in state funds, which must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with non-state funds. The program also supports CoEE Endowed Chairs, world-renowned scientists who lead the Centers of Economic Excellence. By investing in talent and technology, the CoEE Program is designed to fuel the state's knowledge-based economy, resulting in high-paying jobs and an improved standard of living in South Carolina.
The program allows each university to claim an area of expertise for the endowed chair to work within, but not exclusively for, Sorenson said. For instance, because Clemson University is the only one of the three to have a School of Architecture, it will be the lead institution when an endowed chair for historic preservation is hired. Likewise, the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina have taken the lead on the endowed chairs related to medicine and pharmacology.
The economic benefits of the endowed chairs program are two-fold: On the one hand, because the chairs are essentially assigned to the institution with strength in their discipline, a lot of the infrastructure they need is already in place at one site, but their professorships extend beyond one campus.
The Research Centers of Economic Excellence Act authorized the state’s three public research institutions—the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina and Clemson Univeristy—to use S.C. Education Lottery funds, matched dollar for dollar with private funds, to strengthen research and create endowed professorships in areas that will enhance the state’s economy. The program allows each university to claim an area of expertise for the endowed chair to work within, but not exclusively for. For instance, because Clemson University is the only one of the three to have a School of Architecture, it will be the lead institution when an endowed chair for historic preservation is hired. Likewise, the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina have taken the lead on the endowed chairs related to medicine and pharmacology.
The Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence (LIFE) Scholarship was established by the General Assembly during the 1998 legislative session and was signed into law on Friday, June 19, 1998. The LIFE Scholarship Program is a merit-based scholarship designed to increase access to higher education, improve the employability of South Carolina’s students, provide incentives for students to be better prepared for college, improve SAT scores, and encourage students to graduate from college on time. As of September 4, 2001, the Commission on Higher Education awarded 17,269 students, totaling $46.4 million for the 2000-2001 academic year.