Transforming Technology Transfer

From the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship:
www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde

When it comes to effective technology transfer programs, most colleges and universities fall far short of the mark. While the US enjoys a world-class higher education system, American businesses have not been able to effectively tap into the many new innovations and technologies developed on university campuses. An upcoming conference, sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation and the Technology Transfer Society, will examine why this is the case. Preliminary research from the Kauffman Foundation will set the stage for the discussions. This work finds that only a handful of American universities account for the vast majority of invention disclosures, patents and licensing. Most other schools still struggle with technology transfer and are locked into a patent-license model that hampers university-business collaboration and limits commercialization opportunities. The conference will bring together the world’s leading authorities on innovation and technology for what promises to be a fascinating and comprehensive examination of these issues. The three-day conference, Advancing Innovation and Entrepreneurship, will be held at the Kauffman Foundation headquarters in Kansas City, MO, from September 28-30, 2005. To learn more, visit

http://web.kauffman.org/Entrepreneurship.cfm?topic=Innovation or www.t2society.org

Faith Forum: A Liberating Take on Christianity

Theme: Living the Questions

Wednesdays, 6-8pm, Fall 2005

Ecumenical Christian Ministries (ECM)

Come on Wednesdays for a good meal and dialogue on a progressive, alternative understanding of the Christian faith and spirituality in today's world.

"People know that at its core, Christianity has something good to offer the human race. At the same time, many have a sense that they are alone in being a "thinking" Christian and that "salvaging" Christianity is a hopeless task. What is needed is a safe environment where people have permission to ask the questions they've always wanted to ask but have been afraid to voice for fear of being thought a heretic."
~Living the Questions

This quote is from "Living the Questions," a resource we will adopt for some of our weekly topics. For more information, go to www.livingthequestions.com.

Our first two weeks together will be a time for community building. We will share our differenct questions while listening to ourselves and others. Our time together may be a bit "risky," but how else can we better know ourselves and today's world? If ou are interested, please contact Thad Holcombe, ECM Pastor via email or at (785)-843-4933; or contact me (Megan Storm).

Where's Megan?

Hello everyone!
In case you didn't know, I'm staying full-time at the Foundation until the fall. I won't be taking classes, but I will be enjoying many wonderful fall evenings in Lawrence and decorating my house in Overland Park.

In Lawrence, I'm helping with Faith Forum and the Vocation Project (with the ECM), and as a co-coordinator for CREATE (a Center for Community Outreach program).

I'm looking forward to living in many worlds simultaneously. Should be really interesting. :)