Engineering & Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship increasingly has become a vehicle by which technology has been able to make a meaningful impact on society. At Princeton, where students develop an ability to think critically, they identify unmet needs along with the desire to develop solutions, products, and approaches to fill those needs. This is the essence of entrepreneurship. To satisfy this interest, the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education supports a wide range of activities, including courses, workshops, and lecture series.
New in 2007, with the generous support of several alumni, the school established the Dean’s Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship. Julian Lange served as the inaugural visitor in this position. In his first endeavor in this role, Lange developed and led a series of five workshops, "Harnessing the Power of Entrepreneurship."
Continuing in its second year, the Princeton-Jumpstart Lecture Series in Technology Entrepreneurship held two events during 2007, including its signature event, the Innovation Forum, where faculty and teams of graduate students showcase research that may have commercial potential.
During 2007, the center added two new elements to its efforts. First, it appointed Greg Olsen, renowned technology entrepreneur, as the school’s entrepreneur-in-residence. In this role, Olsen provides feedback, support, and guidance to students and faculty with ideas for technology-based businesses. Olsen also developed an event, Meet the Entrepreneurs, where students interacted directly with successful entrepreneurs who were eager to share their stories and experiences.
In our event series, Special Topics in Technology Entrepreneurship, successful alumni entrepreneurs visited campus and shared their experiences of the ups and downs of high-tech startups.