TEC - Students

Student Innovation Incubator (Sii)

The V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition is not the only resource provided to students interested in start-up companies. TEC’s Student Innovation Incubator (or "Sii") assist students at the stage of prototype development.

Originally conceived as a natural extension of Professor Brian Lilly’s course Product Development for Entrepreneurial Ventures (GE 393 BPL), the Sii provides critical support for students enrolled in the course, as well as others who are exploring the commercialization of their concepts. This support includes:

office space, phone and fax service;
computers with Internet access for research, business software, and CAD software for rapid prototyping;
hand tools for crafting working models;
mentoring from Dr. Brian Lilly, instructor of both the Introduction to the Business Side of Engineering (GE 188) and Product Development for Entrepreneurial Ventures (GE 393 BPL) courses and the founder of two successful businesses, and;
an entrepreneurial environment in which students from various disciplines can creatively collaborate

Tenants and Graduates of Sii

Since the Sii was established in the spring 2001 semester, over 20 teams of students have used its resources, and several are still actively pursuing their ideas.

Many of the activities carried out in the Sii have been made possible by a grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. The $20,000 grants have enabled the development of various prototypes and have funded several patent searches.

"The Technology Entrepreneur Center's Sii lab provides resources to student groups beyond what is otherwise available in the typical university setting. The availability of tools and adequate space allows students to create and develop ideas into working prototypes - goals that would remain only a dream without this type of assistance."

Robert Kilzer,
M.S., Electrical Engineering, 2003