MIT, Utah Lead Universities in Business Spin-offs

Not surprisingly, MIT leads the way in the creation of tech-based startup companies. What may seem a little surprising to us here in Arkansas is No. 2. The University of Utah. The Utes may have struggled to break the BCS barrier on the football field in recent years, but the U is firmly established among the nation's elite when it comes to research commercialization. Over the past four years, MIT has averaged 23 startups per year; Utah 21. Last fiscal year, it produced 23. The creation of a research park in the '80s helped grow the university's entrepreneurial program. Hmmm. Sound familiar? Arkansas, behind the tech curve for a long time, is playing catch up. But we're getting there. The proposed Little Rock research park, the work being done at BioVentures on the UAMS campus, UALR's Nanotechnology Center, the Innovation Center in Fayetteville and the Biosciences Institute in Jonesboro....It's just a matter of time before Arkansas cracks the research BCS.

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