Proof-of-concept center available for university inventors
October 14, 2014
The University of Alaska Fairbanks and Nanook Innovation Corp. have a new way for
UAF inventors to get cutting-edge research into the marketplace.
The initiative, named UAF Launchpad, assists UAF inventors with rapidly prototyping
new inventions and testing their products on the market. For software developers,
the Launchpad can create an e-commerce page to license new software quickly, and inventors
can test the software with their users with little or no financial risk. For inventors
of devices, the Launchpad provides expedited access to design and 3D printing services
at UAF.
One inventor is already using the service. Walker Wheeler of the Office of Information
Technology is licensing his software that helps faculty manage multiple sections of
their courses at the same time.
“When an instructor teaches multiple sections of the same course, OIT has no way of
predicting the instructor’s preference for how they would like to represent the course
in Blackboard Learn," Wheeler said. "Since we cannot determine their preference, they
normally send multiple communications to each set of students, or upload multiple
copies of course material for each class session.”
By using Wheeler’s software, faculty can reduce the amount of time it takes to do
these administrative tasks at UAF by combining or “stacking” the courses. Due to his
work with Blackboard, Wheeler is confident that other educational institutions could
benefit from the CourseStacker software, and has placed it online.
In addition to listing the software, Wheeler is using UAF Launchpad for a user survey.
By placing an online survey on the e-commerce site, Wheeler is gathering important
information about the systems that his potential customers use so he can design the
software accordingly.
UAF and Nanook Innovation Corp. are continually searching for new opportunities for
UAF Launchpad. If you are interested in launching a new invention, please contact
the UAF Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization at 907-474-2605.