Today is World Intellectual Property Day, an annual celebration of the critical role that intellectual property (IP) plays in incentivizing and protecting creativity and innovation. The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) is the University of Pittsburgh's resource for all things related to IP, from patents to copyrights to trademarks.
Students at the University of Pittsburgh are active, experiential learners who view acquiring knowledge not as an end, but rather a means to apply their insight and creativity to solve problems and make an impact.
When a startup launches from a university there often remains a level of risk that potential investors are not ready to take on. That’s where a SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) or STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) grant can fill the void to keep an innovation from withering in the "Valley of Death".
Solutions for diagnosing dysphagia (difficulty swallowing); for entering and exiting a vehicle safely; and for a lightweight, customized, affordable wheelchair were awarded the top three prizes in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) Innovation Challenge.
Jared Raszewski’s (ENGR ’18) passion for innovation and entrepreneurship emerged while taking a chemical product commercialization course in his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.