EcoMap Webinar Recap: Building an Innovation-Driven Higher Education Ecosystem
- Joyce Arias
- Posted on
- Blog
Julie Heath, Executive Director at IU Innovates Indiana University
Dr. Bill Romani, Director of Economic Development & Workforce Integration at Innovate Carolina UNC Chapel Hill
This article answers:
- How critical is cross-campus collaboration to a thriving ecosystem?
- Why is it important to engage high schools in the entrepreneurial ecosystem-building process?
- What is the benefit of good data collection and how do we do it?
There is no place with more untapped innovation potential than a higher education institution. Universities and colleges are uniquely positioned to cultivate innovation ecosystems that can build, connect, and thrive.
Julie Heath, inaugural executive director of IU Innovates, a new initiative that advances entrepreneurs at Indiana University, and Dr. Bill Romani, who leads Innovate Carolina’s Design and Innovation for the Public Good, recently joined EcoMap to share their expertise on building thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems in higher education.
Both panelists emphasized that a healthy innovation ecosystem not only requires leadership to prioritize and invest time and resources into it, but also increased accessibility, ensuring individuals with creative ideas know where to turn to develop them.
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If you really want to grow your ecosystem, it’s not enough to just double down on the people who already know what’s going on,” Dr. Romani said.
Equally crucial is cross-campus collaboration across schools, departments, and campuses. Because Innovate Carolina is housed in the Chancellor’s Office, Dr. Romani and his team have greater access to all silos.
He shared that when he arrived in 2023, many of Innovate Carolina’s valuable resources—like tech transfer, IP support, and commercialization—weren’t being fully utilized. Faculty and staff often didn’t understand how to navigate these resources, leading to costly mistakes. By applying a human-design-centered approach, Innovate Carolina broke down those barriers, creating a streamlined, accessible innovation platform for faculty and staff.
Their current ecomap connects innovators to the right resources faster, already shows a strong initial return on investment and strengthens the university’s innovation pipeline.
As universities face pressure to demonstrate a strong return on investment (ROI), both panelists stressed the importance of data-driven storytelling to measure success. In Julie’s previous role with the Indiana Secretary of Commerce, she developed a GDP map to track the economic contribution of young companies at the county level, showcasing the direct impact of entrepreneurship on the state’s economy.
The GDP map serves as a powerful advocacy tool for state and local leaders, making the case for continued investment in entrepreneurship initiatives.
Economic returns can be tough to garner in the current climate and both panelists are seeing the downhill effects of changes at the federal level. However, they have also seen collaboration and creativity soar in these times.
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There’s never a better time to have the entrepreneurial mindset of seeing problems as opportunities to solve,” Heath said.
The shift was also illustrated in the type of applications Dr. Romani received for UNC’s Translating Innovative Ideas for the Public Good Award, particularly from schools that did not typically apply.
“People looking for funding are starting to entertain and explore areas that they might not have explored before,” Dr. Romani said.
To foster sustained growth in innovation ecosystems, Dr. Romani and Julie agree that connecting smart, creative leaders to the ecosystem early is paramount. Both universities have specific programs to engage high school students, ensuring that the innovation pipeline remains robust and competitive.
The University of North Carolina offers fellowships in the College of Arts and Sciences on innovation and entrepreneurship, and the School of Education not only talks about innovation in high schools but also teaches master’s level teachers to bring the skills into their future high school classrooms.
Indiana University has similar initiatives that partner with local high schools to engage students, build the entrepreneur pipeline, and provide students with hands-on experience and connection at the collegiate level, including a statewide high school entrepreneurship program that provides funding and resources to help high school students get involved in entrepreneurship at an early stage.
As the landscape of higher education innovation continues to evolve, fostering accessible and collaborative ecosystems within universities is critical to ensuring the next generation of entrepreneurs can thrive. By investing in both the leadership and infrastructure necessary to support entrepreneurship, universities can become powerful drivers of economic and social progress in their communities.
Watch the full webinar on YouTube.