Welcome to the EITA

"Coming Together is a Beginning; Keeping Together is Progress; Working Together is Success" 

Henry Ford

- EITA's Knowledge Platform

The Emerging Information Technologies Association (EITA) is a virtual, non-profit organization that promotes emerging technologies to build a 21st-century digital economy by fostering research, partnerships, and commercialization of new innovations. 

EITA brings together experts, investors, and entrepreneurs through collaborations, industry support, and its online Entrepreneurship Community and website, www.eitc.org, to develop shared knowledge and address challenges in the rapidly evolving tech landscape. 

1. Mission and Goals: 

• Advance Emerging Technologies: EITA is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of new technologies and services.
• Build a Digital Economy: The organization works to create a creative, innovative, and knowledge-based digital economy for the 21st century.
• Facilitate Innovation: EITA helps bring new campus technologies to market and provides support for commercialization opportunities.

2. How EITA Achieves its Mission: 

• Research Collaborations and Partnerships: EITA forms partnerships between academia and industry to advance technology.
• Community Innovation: The organization fosters an environment where ideas can be developed through its Entrepreneurship Community.
• Industry Support: EITA provides support and expertise to businesses to enhance their innovation potential.
• Shared Knowledge and Vocabulary: EITA's website and forums facilitate the sharing of knowledge and build a common vocabulary among experts from diverse fields.

3. The Entrepreneurship Community: 

• A Hub for Stakeholders: This community brings together practitioners, investors, regulators, professors, and researchers.
• Idea Development:It serves as a central point for developing new ideas and contributing to the emerging digital economy and culture.

- Centers of Excellence

Research, Innovation, and Commercialization:

• Research - to conduct pioneering research in key areas of Emerging Technologies and Services,
• Innovation - to make fundamental discoveries, generate innovative solutions to practical problems,
• Commercialization - to develop new technologies for commercial applications.

Our team members around the world are doing exciting work that could impact their fields for many years to come. We think of some of these people primarily as "inventors"; they focus on creating new technologies. We call others "visionaries" because they show how technology can be put to new or better uses. "Humanitarians" are using technology to expand opportunity or inform public policy. "Pioneers" are exploring new frontiers that will spawn future innovations; these breakthroughs will be picked up by future "entrepreneurs" who turn emerging technologies into viable businesses.

- The EITA R&D and Venture Forums 

R&D and Venture Forums are distinct yet interconnected events that bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors to bridge the gap between technological breakthroughs and commercial viability. 

While an R&D forum focuses on the research and development aspects of innovation, a venture forum centers on connecting startups with funding and resources. 

1. R&D Forums: 

Purpose: The primary purpose of an R&D forum is to showcase new research, identify knowledge gaps, and foster collaboration within a specific field. These events are designed for researchers, scientists, and industry leaders to share progress and explore potential applications of R&D efforts. 

Key activities:

• Presentations: Researchers present their latest findings and technologies to peers, government agencies, and industry partners.
• Discussion: Breakout sessions and workshops are common features, where participants can delve deeper into specific topics and identify areas for future research.
• Networking: These forums enable the formation of valuable partnerships between academic institutions, government bodies, and private companies to advance innovation.
• Knowledge exchange: Attendees share resources, set standards, and discuss the latest practices in their field. 

2. Venture Forums:

Purpose: A venture forum is an event where entrepreneurs present their business plans and startup ventures to an audience of potential investors, including angel investors, venture capitalists, and corporate partners. The goal is to secure the necessary capital and support to launch and scale their businesses. 

Key activities:

• Startup pitches: Entrepreneurs give presentations seeking private equity investment.
• Screening: Presenting companies are often pre-screened to ensure quality and readiness for investment.
• Networking: The events provide extensive opportunities for entrepreneurs to network with potential funders, mentors, and other industry professionals.
• Mentorship: Beyond funding, many venture forums offer educational programs and mentorship to help entrepreneurs refine their strategies for customer acquisition, planning, and scaling. 

3. The Convergence: R&D Venture Studios: 

Where R&D +  Venture Converge

Delivering insights from the frontlines of foresight by building and investing in the future of the most disruptive and transformative ideas.

In a newer, hybrid model, R&D venture studios combine the strengths of both forums by embedding entrepreneurial expertise within research institutions. This proactive model is specifically designed to commercialize overlooked R&D by creating startups from the ground up. 

How they operate:

• Venture builders: Entrepreneurs are placed directly within labs to identify high-impact commercial opportunities.
• Idea generation: They match new technologies with validated market needs, creating ventures with strong "tech push" and "market pull".
• Systematic process: Rather than relying on luck, these studios use a structured process to vet ideas and manage a portfolio of new ventures.
• Ecosystem building: They cultivate a network of investors, advisors, and corporate partners to support the new ventures. 
• Benefit: This model provides a deliberate pathway for commercializing research and increases the rate of successful spinouts from universities and corporate R&D divisions. 

[10 Steps To Success]

- Building a Knowledge Economy

Universities play a vital role in building a knowledge economy. They indirectly promote regional innovation and economic development, particularly in high-tech industries, by cultivating human capital, generating intellectual property, and conducting basic research.

This study aims to explore the relationship between university research activities and high-tech employment, providing insights for policymakers in developing strategies to sustain a knowledge-based economy.

Key Features: 

• The Role of Universities: Universities contribute to regional economic development by cultivating a skilled workforce, generating intellectual property through research, and even conducting basic research (which may not have direct commercial value but can lead to future innovations). 
• The Knowledge Economy: A knowledge economy is one in which economic growth is primarily driven by knowledge and innovation, and universities play a vital role in creating and disseminating this knowledge.
• Research and High-Tech Employment: Understanding the relationship between university research activities and regional high-tech employment levels is crucial to understanding how academic research promotes the development of knowledge-based industries.

Overall, universities are crucial drivers of innovation and economic development in a knowledge-based economy, particularly through their research activities and contributions to human capital development.

- Entrepreneurial Creativity For Innovation

Entrepreneurial creativity is the ability to generate new ideas and solve problems by anticipating future needs and creating solutions before customers even realize they have a problem, essentially identifying and capitalizing on emerging opportunities through innovative thinking; it's about seeing the world in new ways and connecting seemingly disparate ideas to develop novel solutions, which then translate into tangible products, services, or process improvements, ultimately leading to new value for customers and businesses. 

1. Key characteristics about entrepreneurial creativity: 

• Focus on future needs: Entrepreneurial creativity involves not just solving current problems, but also anticipating future trends and customer desires to develop solutions that are ahead of the curve.
• Holistic perspective: It requires the ability to see connections between different fields and disciplines to generate unique and innovative ideas.
• Problem-solving with a twist: Entrepreneurial creativity goes beyond simply solving existing problems; it involves finding new ways to address issues that might not even be recognized yet.
• Value creation: The ultimate goal of entrepreneurial creativity is to develop solutions that provide significant value to customers and contribute to business success.

2. How entrepreneurial creativity relates to innovation:

• Innovation as a result: Creative ideas are the foundation upon which innovation is built; by turning those ideas into reality through development, testing, and implementation, entrepreneurs achieve innovation.
• Not always a direct path: While creativity often leads to innovation, not every creative idea will necessarily result in a successful commercial product or service.
• Importance of execution: Innovation requires not just creativity, but also the ability to execute ideas effectively and bring them to market.