Building Longitudinal Data for Research

AN iACCELERATE/E-CLINIC BILATERAL RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP

Objectives and activities

The iAccelerate/E-Clinic Collaborative Data Programme is an international collaborative research, service, and education pilot project between the iAccelerate Centre at the University of Wollongong and the E-Clinic at North Carolina State University. The project is led by John Kerr, Senior Program Manager of the iAccelerate Centre; a multipurpose business start-up and incubator located at the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus and Professor Carr, the Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at North Carolina State University.

The overall objective of the project is to greatly increase the interaction between these two UGPN centres to leverage research and teaching capabilities into future funding and research publications. The project involves two major activities; first, a review and catalogue exercise of existing data within the iAccelerate Centre to ultimately develop a research data and program reporting approach that benefits both the iAccelerate Centre and the NC State E-Clinic. Secondly, both programs will share instructional and engagement strategies regarding graduate and undergraduate students in entrepreneurship.

Both North Carolina State University and the University of Wollongong have recently and successfully launched entrepreneurship programs and centres that focus on outreach, engagement, and education within their respective entrepreneurial ecosystems. At Wollongong, the launch of the iAccelerate Centre in 2016 has been incredibly successful, with the engagement model used by the Centre designated as the model incubator approach within New South Wales.

At North Carolina State, the E-Clinic was also launched in early 2016, with the goal of creating a teaching, research, and service model within the Research Triangle entrepreneurial environment. This model (The Clinic Model of Entrepreneurship) is based upon the teaching hospital model seen at universities with medical school tie-ins. Similar to teaching hospitals, E-Clinic students are exposed to young start-up firms, who bring a specific problem or opportunity to the clinic for diagnoses.

This innovative E-Clinic approach has received considerable visibility, to include numerous national and international awards from entrepreneurship professional organizations such as USASBE and GCEC (Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centres).