Program for budding entrepreneurs launched today

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

University of Adelaide students looking to turn their research into a viable business venture can now receive dedicated support with the launch of the new ThIncLab Commercialisation Accelerator (ThIncLab).

Launched tonight at the University of Adelaide, ThIncLab is a blended learning program including online training, workshops and mentoring which will help students develop strategic plans and establish viable ventures.

Professor Noel Lindsay, Director of the Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC), says ThIncLab will complement existing business planning programs and competitions by helping students take the next step and work toward transforming their ideas and research outputs into commercial reality.

"With the launch of ThIncLab we can now nurture students through the whole business endeavour process. Too often, student research remains locked up in universities. This program is designed to move it out into the open market," says Professor Lindsay.

"ThIncLab complements another program that the ECIC runs, the highly successful Australian eChallenge Student Entrepreneur Competition, where students compete to establish new ventures and the chance to win up to $60,000 in prizes.

"Both programs channel students into the ECIC's ThIncLab Business Incubator, a facility shared by like-minded entrepreneurial individuals that helps them launch their new businesses," he says

Professor Christopher Findlay, Executive Dean of the Faculty of the Professions, says budding entrepreneurs and new businesses are vital for the future of South Australia and that the University of Adelaide's ECIC is working hard to expand a supportive environment for creative endeavours.

"There is an increasing need to stimulate business activity and support new venture development. The ECIC has for many years been enhancing a model of entrepreneurship and inventive developments through its research, teaching and community engagement activities," Professor Findlay says.

"This work also contributes to the State's 10 economic priorities, especially 'growth through innovation'," he says.

For more information about ThIncLab, visit www.ecic.adelaide.edu.au/research/thinclab/.

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