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She said the Ryan Incubator on campus has begun supporting creative minors and other entrepreneurship-related activities.
How does this incubator program differ from your previous work at SEG or elsewhere?
The Ryan Incubator will be a broad entrepreneurship support initiative aimed at creating economic and social value for students and alumni through local and international entrepreneurship initiatives. So of course, the biggest difference is that the incubator will be more student-centered.
Are you hoping to collaborate with SEG?
I’m a big believer in the ecosystem approach we’ve developed at SEG, and we hope to bring some of what we’ve learned and developed to the campus environment. At this point, we envision that some work will be student-led, and some student-supported. Of course, my hope is that the Ryan Incubator will work closely with SEG and other leading business support organizations in Rhode Island.
But we’re starting to research other successful university-based startups and plan to learn from what’s working elsewhere. [Ramirez also helped built a social enterprise initiative at the University of Michigan Business School]
Has PC ever had an incubator before?
It is not a formal incubator program, but students participate in entrepreneurship courses and entrepreneurship activities for a period of time. I have been teaching social entrepreneurship at PC for 10 years and have seen first-hand the growing entrepreneurial spirit and talent on campus. And PC students are being recognized for their entrepreneurial initiatives. For example, in 2021, the PC team won first place in the BIG EAST Startup Challenge with their invention “UMeal”. [an annual competition where teams pitch product ideas to a panel of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and BIG EAST alumni].
What new products, services, or organizations do you hope students will discover?
We expect a wide range of ideas to come from students and are open to all kinds of creativity. That being said, we know there are some areas that are interested in incorporating environmental and sustainability issues; Science and Health Care Technology; Social entrepreneurship and community engagement; family business; and nonprofit entrepreneurship, especially those that support the college’s Catholic and Dominican identity.
How does this incubator space tie in with the Ryan family donating $2 million to this program?
Ryan was a political science major who went on to own a successful healthcare technology business. [Ryan was chairman and CEO of CareCore National in South Carolina, which is a company he co-founded to provide benefit management services to health care providers.].
He was a champion of the value of a liberal arts education and believed that his PC education—without a business degree—gave him the fundamental skills and mindsets needed to become a successful entrepreneur, such as critical thinking, effective communication, a love of learning, a broad worldview, and intellectual curiosity. [Providence College’s] The Business Innovation Minor and Incubator are specifically designed to support students who are pursuing liberal arts or other non-business degrees but are interested in the fundamentals of business and entrepreneurship.
How is this program helping non-business students?
Small Business & Innovation is designed specifically for non-business. [students]. The logic is that students pursuing a business major will have sufficient exposure to the fundamentals of business, making the minor unnecessary.
The hope is that the incubator’s programming and physical space will provide an opportunity for “collision” between business faculty and students and other non-business faculty and students interested in entrepreneurship. Ryan’s Incubator can serve as a “clearing house” between all PC entrepreneurship-related activities.
Can you give an example?
Imagine that a chemistry major separates nitrogen and phosphate from a test strip studying “dead zones” caused by fertilization in streams that feed into Narragansett Bay, home to commercially important shellfish. This student can use the resources in the incubator to explore ways to commercialize the technology, get a patent, do a market analysis, get grant money, talk to state regulators, etc. The Ryan Incubator and staff facilitate connections between science students and faculty with technical expertise, and business students and faculty, all while making the necessary community connections.
What is the benefit of non-business students participating in this incubator program? What skills can you take with non-business careers?
In my view, the most successful startups have diverse teams that bring different perspectives, strengths, and skills. Innovative ideas are often developed in response to the needs of specific industries. Our vision is for this incubator to break down traditional silos and allow student teams from across campus to collaborate with community leaders, alumni and others to create the most innovative and effective innovations to solve complex challenges.
Although successful businesses require individuals with business acumen, we know that not all innovation comes out of business school.
The Boston Globe’s weekly Ocean State Innovators column features Rhode Island innovators who are starting new businesses and nonprofits, conducting basic research and shaping the state’s economy. Send tips and advice to reporter Alexa Gagos at alexa.gagosz@globe.com.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter. @alexagagosz And on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
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