 By Phil D’Amico, director of business growth, the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Teamwork is often a buzzword used in business, and many times gets overused.
However, if the city of South Bend, and our community at large, are to capitalize on the nanoelectronics and technology-based business ventures destined for our community, teamwork will be the essential ingredient for success. Economic development is a three-legged stool, with workforce development, business development, and education all coming together.
Technology transfer is the ultimate teamwork concept at work, playing a vital role in all aspects of economic development. What is technology transfer? Typically, it involves transferring scientific research discoveries from university research labs to the marketplace through licenses, patents and commercialization.
Yet the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Technology Transfer also works directly with businesses to develop and spin off their technologies.
This can be a huge benefit to our community.
For example, Notre Dame is working closely with a South Bend business by perfecting aeronautic technologies that could be used by Boeing and Bell Helicopter.
Notre Dame is also seeking to partner with a South Bend business in the field of wind power and wind turbine development. According to Scott Hartford, a licensing associate in Notre Dame’s Department Office of Technology Transfer, energy efficiency has been a very big area of growth.
“Now more than ever, it is important for research and development to focus on alternative energy sources,” says Hartford. “We are seeing more technology opportunities in alternative energy, and it seems to be where much of today’s research funding is focused.”
Notre Dame also is working with many businesses doing outstanding work in the medical field and in the orthopedic industry.
| Phil Damico leads the Business Growth Initiative, a joint program of the City of South Bend and the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce. Click here to contact Phil regarding help with your expansion efforts or for assistance with public incentives. |
The South Bend business community is already actively seeking new opportunities for Innovation Park at Notre Dame as well as Ignition Park, which eventually will be the home to nearly 1 million square feet of high-tech research and development, which may also encompass nanotechnology. As these new opportunities present themselves, technology transfer is going to play an integral part in developing the next big wave of business success stories.
These success stories will hinge in large part on the partnerships between our business community and educational institutions, which are essential to enhancing our technologically advanced workforce. Not only will the University of Notre Dame play a role in the area of tech transfer, but every other institution of higher education in our region must and will play a key role in taking this city to the next level.
The concepts of tech transfer, and teamwork are energizing this city, and transforming South Bend into “The” place to be for technology in the United States.
Yes, indeed, teamwork is more than a buzzword.
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