2.3 Análisis de la solución
2.3.1 Viabilidad del proyecto
T
he Technology Park at Erzelli will bring the university closer to the world of industry also to encourage the development of new techno- logical solutions and the generation of new applications to production processes.aimed at facilitating the development of the entrepreneurial spirit of students and researchers who will work in this structure.
In the international academic world various experiences for the Creation of Business have been established where one learns the things necessary to de- velop, launch, consolidate and improve new economic activities based on in- novation of a product or new technology solutions.
It is of particular interest to report the experience of the University of Mon- terrey in Mexico.
The Technology School of Monterrey is a leading university of Latin America that has consolidated a model of success in this field. Already by the end of the ‘70s, it had launched an Institute for the Creation of Business with the aim of generating entrepreneurial capabilities in its students, by giving them the instruments to be able to launch new companies based on development on a commercial scale of their ideas. Since 1987 a business program is run- ning with a group of professors and entrepreneurs united in a committee that began to lead students who wanted to work with them in launching on an industrial scale new solutions that they had developed.
This step brought to the institution of a mandatory course on business devel- opment that is based on teaching techniques for elaborating a business plan for a new product idea or a new commercial enterprise. In 2003, this course, associated with another for training leaders of enterprise, gave rise to the cre- ation of a network of enterprise incubators at the Tecnológico of Monterrey. Some data supports the impact of this model:
- It brings together 300 groups of students with entrepreneurial aspirations every year
- 9000 students a year attempt this activity of innovation - 110 professors direct the initiative
The degree program in business development and creation became a teaching course and it is already ten years old, and sees graduates who are professional able to identify opportunities, evaluate them to decide whether or not to take the risk of launching a new enterprise.
The most important new feature was the creation of a business incubator, an infrastructure of support for promoting the effective creation and growth of new businesses founded on students’ ideas.
The new model is based on a platform of instruments and knowledge that have the goal of:
Offering students the support of a network of entrepreneurs (for example -
ex alumni) among whom a mentor could be identified to accompany them in the development of their own idea;
Developing businesses founded on the ability to compete in the market -
and contribute to development of the community in which they operate; Promoting a center of regional influence around the activity of the busi- -
ness incubator and employment that develops with the center;
Helping to obtain initial risk capital gathered from investors (Angel Inves- •
tors) that pursue development objectives with economic-social high-impact. The Business Incubator Network offers assistance and services aimed at two different technological levels:
It helps to launch innovative ideas and projects with high technology -
content and high added value that generate new knowledge applicable to key sectors like biotechnology, agro-technology, IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, aerospace, energy and transportation industry; It contributes to the creation, development and consolidation of business -
with a medium level of technological content that apply innovations in process to businesses that need it. In this case, attention is concentrated on service providers that range from consultants to telecommunications to software services, development of franchises, construction, agro-in- dustry and commercial activities.
Alongside the model of the incubator, a second level called “business accel- erator” was developed. The mortality rate of ideas in the phase of incubation is high, those new businesses that pass the first test of impact with the market need specialized consultation help to grow in an accelerated way their own sales with adequate generation of employment. This with the use of a flex- ible infrastructure that allows the business to adapt to rapid changes in the market and the demand to put up with high levels of growth and generate important benefits for the entrepreneur. In this phase, the need for capital intensifies and the accelerator helps the new entrepreneur to achieve sources of capital that can be integrated with his own.
The function of the Technology Park comes into play in assisting develop- ment and positioning of new businesses. They offer an organized platform of common services to new businesses for facilitating commercialization of new technology thanks to the interaction among companies and the university. Many experiences of the past 20 years have demonstrated that integrated technology parks have generated a strong positive impact on the develop- ment of knowledge based economies and have increased the well-being of the community by bringing to the economic context of the region businesses capable of creating added value and high social impact.