Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
Rochester Institute of Technology Kicks Off Corporate R&D Program
3/20/2008
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has launched an unusual collaborative research effort with the corporate world. The Rochester, NY school has entered into an agreement with telecommunications company PAETEC for the first project under RIT's new "Corporate R&D" program, in which faculty and graduate students will conduct research for companies, with the companies themselves retaining intellectual property rights to the research developed.
Through the Corporate R&D program, companies pay a fee to retain the rights to intellectual property developed during the research projects based on a fixed pricing structure. RIT, for its part, retains the right to conduct further research that builds off the initial research and to publish research papers.
The concept was the brainchild not of a corporate boardroom but of RIT President Bill Destler, an advocate of university-industry collaboration.
"This program will work to change the way universities and companies do business and assist in creating enhanced opportunities for technology transfer, basic research and economic development," he said in a statement released yesterday.
The initial industry partnership with PAETEC involves a $1 million infusion in research projects over the next three years, with the first project coming out of the College of Applied Science and Technology. (Subsequent projects will be handled by "numerous RIT colleges," according to RIT.) This first project focuses on PAETEC's Pinnacle Communication Management Suite and Allworx VoIP lines from the company's Advanced Solution Group. According to the university, "RIT researchers and the Pinnacle team will tackle a significant challenge that many businesses face, which is how to manage the proliferation of mobile devices, the mobile workforce and lifecycle management. The end goal of the initiative with RIT will be a decrease in costs for business customers associated with managing wireless services and mobile devices."
PAETEC, which is also based in Rochester, already employs directly more than 100 RIT graduates, according to the company.
"The pipeline to local talent has always been strong," said Jack Baron, president of PAETEC's Advanced Solutions Group, in a prepared statement. "We see this as an opportunity to strengthen these ties while benefiting our business in the near-term."
We will bring you further details of this collaboration and about the Corporate R&D program in general in the near future. An audio presentation about the initiative is available here (MPEG-4 support required).
About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- IMS/NGN Forum 'Plugfest' Eyes UC
In a way, it's not surprising that the sixth IMS/NGN Forum interoperability "plugfest," and the first to be held since the organizations formerly merged this week, will drill down into the unified communications (UC) space.
- Microsoft Promises To Improve UAC in Windows 7
Microsoft has been talking about future changes to Windows Vista's most maligned feature, User Account Control (UAC). This security feature, which alerts users via popup boxes, may get modified with Microsoft's next-generation Windows OS, according to the "Engineering Windows 7" blog.
- Microsoft Promises To Improve UAC in Windows 7
Microsoft has been talking about future changes to Windows Vista's most maligned feature, User Account Control (UAC). This security feature, which alerts users via popup boxes, may get modified with Microsoft's next-generation Windows OS, according to the "Engineering Windows 7" blog.
- 'Blog Action Day' Calls for Discussion of Poverty
The second annual Blog Action Day takes place today, bringing together 8,000-plus blog, podcast, and videocast sites to post about the same issue on the same day. This year's topic is poverty. The purpose of the effort is, according to organizers, "to create a discussion. We ask bloggers to take a single day out of their schedule and focus it on an important issue. By doing so on the same day, the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue. Out of this discussion naturally flow actions, advice, ideas, plans, and empowerment."
- Apple Refreshes Entire Notebook Line
Apple has refreshed its entire notebook lineup--including the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air--adding in expanded graphics capabilities, greater storage capacities, and, in some cases, faster CPUs. Al of the new models are available now, except for the MacBook Air, which will ship in November.
- Is Higher Ed Technology Keeping Up with Student Demand?
Students see campus technology is a key factor in selecting a college or university and consider it critical for their professional development. Yet higher education institutions on the whole aren't keeping up with student needs in this area, according to a new report released Monday by CDW Government (CDW-G).
