A Decade Of Technological Innovation: A Retrospective View Of The First Decade Of The Nciia

The role of entrepreneurship in engineering, science and technology education has undergone a transformation over the past ten years. Experiential exposure to commercially directed innovation and entrepreneurship is now a growing part of many engineering programs and is increasingly viewed as a way to prepare students for the realities of a working world in which they will need to take control of their careers and be prepared to contribute to the commercial success of any enterprise they join or create. The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance was created in 1996 to nurture the next generation of innovators and technology entrepreneurs by working with higher education institutions to build programs, build faculty knowledge and networks and support emerging technology entrepreneurs. NCIIA has provided funding, training and community building resources and programs to encourage the initiation of curricular programs, formal and informal networks and the launch of new products and businesses based on technological innovations by student teams known as E-Teams. This paper will review and discuss the progress and outcomes of the NCIIA programs over the past ten years looking at the impacts on participating institutions and programs, educational and entrepreneurial outcomes and the development of key networks that continue to drive progress in the field.