Simon Fraser University (SFU) is launching a new high technology entrepreneurship initiative dubbed entrepreneurship@SFU, thanks to a $210,000 donation from SFU alumnus Ken Spencer and a matching contribution through the B.C. government’s B.C. Innovation Council (BCIC).
Spencer co-founded Creo Products in 1983 and, as CEO, helped grow the company to sales of nearly $1 billion by 2005, when Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK) bought Creo for US$988 million.
The new Ken Spencer Entrepreneur Incubator, which is a component of the entrepreneurship@sfu initiative, is a competitive academic pathway for third- and fourth-year applied sciences and business students. It provides the skills, mentorship and resources to build innovative ideas and develop new ventures.
SFU plans to begin with a pilot initiative in 2012, accepting up to 25 students for each of the next seven years. The university’s goal is to produce six companies or products annually.
“A few years ago I got onto this idea that we should get engineering and business students together,” Spencer told Business in Vancouver.
Spencer, who has a PhD in computer engineering and an MBA, previously donated money to fund a business plan competition for many years.
“I really encouraged the students to make a product and market it and hopefully companies would come out of it. After much discussion, I funded this initiative.”
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom