Lally Collaborates To Offer Technology Commercialization & Entrepreneurship Program

“The TC&E curriculum responds to a real need on campus and in the business community. It’s directed at technical professionals who find it difficult to fully develop their ideas into commercially sustainable products or services... It’s a very exciting opportunity for technical professionals and for our students,” said Lois Peters.

Students may focus on TC&E at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. At the master’s level, TC&E students complete advanced coursework in management, in-depth graduate work in a technical discipline, and a specialized module in law applicable to technology commercialization (business formation, contracts, and intellectual property). Undergraduate TC&E students earn either a B.S. in business and management with a “strong” minor (six courses) in a collaborating department, or a B.S. in a science or engineering with a strong minor in business and management. Collaborating Rensselaer departments are: Computer Science, IT, Biomedical Engineering, Biology, Cognitive Science, Materials Science, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Design, Innovation and Society, and Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems. Albany Law School partners with Lally to deliver a specialized module for the master’s degree.

“The TC&E curriculum responds to a real need on campus and in the business community,” said Peters, who is the enterprise management and organization area coordinator. “It’s directed at technical professionals who find it difficult to fully develop their ideas into commercially sustainable products or services. They are often surprised to find that the market won’t come to them, that they have to learn how to successfully approach the market. It’s a very exciting opportunity for technical professionals and for our students.”

“A lot of engineering firms would welcome TC&E grads,” said David Rosowsky, dean of Rensselaer’s School of Engineering. Speaking specifically to future engineers, Rosowsky added, “we need engineering graduates with a broad skill-set, who are trained to think across disciplines, and who understand how to team effectively with other professionals.”