Industry in Michigan has a new way to connect with state universities in ways intended to help the economy grow, one organizers say is the first of its kind in the country.
The Michigan Corporate Relations Network, or M-CRN, is a collaboration between
Western Michigan University and five other state schools -- Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Wayne State University and the University of Michigan's campuses in Ann Arbor and Dearborn.
The M-CRN will be developed with more than $1.8 million from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Michigan Strategic Fund Board. The overall program funding will exceed $3 million after an industry match of more than $1 million is raised.
At WMU, the M-CRN will be housed in the
Haworth College of Business and will work collaboratively with the
Small Business and Technology Development Center.
"This new effort will help our research universities work more closely together and develop tools like a statewide database on faculty expertise that will ensure business requests for assistance are funneled to the researchers who are best equipped to assist them," says Bob Miller, WMU associate vice president for community outreach who has been working on the M-CRN since its inception.
The first six initiatives for the M-CRN are:
• Establish or enhance business engagement offices, giving businesses and economic development agencies "one-stop shops" for access to university research expertise and student talent.
• Launch of a Small-Company Innovation Program to help companies partner with universities for applied research and development of identified technologies.
• Create an Instant Innovation Program that brings faculty experts from the universities together with Michigan companies to tackle significant business and research challenges.
• Create a Small-Company Internship Award program to encourage student job placements with company partners in Michigan and provide funding for students to work as summer interns or in cooperative positions with corporate partners.
• Development of a single-point-of-access web tool for businesses searching for faculty expertise across the M-CRN universities.
• Increase access to university library resources.
"Companies like Google, Facebook and Dell were born on college campuses, and we want to keep helping our leading universities turn the latest developments into jobs," says Michael Finney, president and CEO of the
MEDC.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Cheryl Roland, Western Michigan University
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