Webinar on 1st June 3.30- 4.30pm IST

Intrapreneurship and Innovation in Engineering Education

V.Thanikachalam, B.E., M.Tech., Ph.D., M.S., FIE., FIGS

(vthani2025@gmail.com)

Intrapreneur • Coined in 1980 by Gifford

Pinchot , Management Consultant

• According to him:- Intrapreneurs focus on innovation and creativity-They transform an idea into profitable venture - The management has to create an environment where the employees are free to explore ideas

Faculty Intrapreneurs?• 1-2% of the well qualified faculty members in

the autonomous institutes plan innovative projects and programs under external funding agencies and generate funds as entrepreneurs using the existing resources and infrastructure

• Bold, creative, highly knowledgeable, risk takers and star performers

• Think out of box• Divers of innovation within the institute• Seek to provide solutions to unique industry

driven problems• Seek policies, technologies, and applications that

resolve barriers to increase the productivity• Take on a task within the institute to increase

the capacity of the institute.

Entrepreneurs • Have broad vision• Establish organizations to generate

innovative products• Take risks, but within the context of

the environment• Have more directly applicable skills

and competencies for a selected project

• Focus on the project undertaken• Select creative executives and

managers• Encourage them to deliver

outstanding products

Problems of Faculty Intrapreneurs• Non-focused Educational Environment• Non-delegation of required authority for project based activities• Additional works beyond the signed agreements/ contracts• Frequent change of project staff• Merging project gains into grants-in-aid• Barriers to submit the bid documents

Opportunities for Undertaking Sponsored Programs and Projects• Programs under International

Development Agencies (IDAs)• Programs under various

Ministries• Programs under AICTE, UGC &

State Government• Programs under MNCs• Programs under public sector

organizations• Programs under private sector

companies

Hybrid Model: Institute supported Intrapreneurs for Innovation• Support from the Board of Governors• Strong Institute Leadership• Culture to support and reward Intrapreneurs• Support cross disciplinary and interdisciplinary teams• Nurtures the champion s for innovation and development

Ecosystem• Establish center for undertaking

consultancy works and projects• Support Interdisciplinary approach

connecting various needed departments

• Empower senior faculty as an administrator with decentralized administration

• Provide adequate resources and technical support staff

Innovation Centers• Exclusive dedicated centers which

combine sponsored projects, research, product development, testing, revising, patenting, executive development, faculty development, mentoring the graduate students and developing capstone projects and practicums

• Foundation for technology transfer• Develop new entrepreneurs• Incubation centers• One stop solution centers• Commercial Development• Large scale collaboration with the

industries

State of the Art• Mark Gorden recommended the commercialization

of university owned technology• US Senate Task Force emphasized University-

Industry Partnerships through Large Scale Collaborations

• IIT Chennai established an Industrial Park to promote innovation, created physical infrastructure support system for R&D, incubation of entrepreneurial ventures, commercial development and facilitating networking with professional resources

• IIT Mumbai focused on the innovation and established entrepreneurship park

• IIT Kharagpur established Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park

• IIT Delhi established a Foundation for innovation and technology park

Barriers to Faculty Intrapreneurs• Kezar and Lester (2009) identified the following factors:- Limited professionalism of the faculty members- Discrepancies and water tight departments- Limited training and socialization- Tenure of the faculty- Limited reward system- Bureaucratic and hierarchical administrative structures- Clash between academic and administrative structures

Guidelines for Deepening Department Collaboration• Hower A Mark (2012) suggested:- Promote a center of shared leadership and

responsibility for institutional goals- Develop shared vision of the institute- Actively reduce the barriers to collaboration and integrate practices- Create professional development activities

Guidelines …• Develop institutional rewards and

recognition processes that support collaborative practices

• Actively seek to expand the diversity processes that support collaboration and individual practices

• Reflect periodically as an institute of the systems, process and relationships of the faculty members in the projects

Focus of the Institutional Culture on Intrapreneurs (Bergquist and Pawlak, 2008)• Collegial: Developing the values and quality of character of society’s future leaders• Managerial: Commitment to serve underserved population• Developmental: Creation of programs and activities furthering the personal and professional growth• Advocacy- Establishment of equitable and egalitarian policies

for the distribution of resources and benefits in the institution

Focus of the Institutional Culture…• Virtual: Values open, shared, responsive educational system- Connects to global and technological advances of recent

times- Responds to the challenges facing higher educationIncluding economic constraints and declining public supports• Tangible: Finds meaning in roots, its community and its spiritual grounding

Statewide Governing Boards (Paul Linenfelter, Richard Novak, Richard Legon , 2008)

• Built in connection with business and civic leaders to the higher education public policy dialogs

• Provide permanent forum for higher education policy

• Balance institutional priorities with the public good

• Show willingness to help , lead and support strategic changes

• Engage in system wide and statewide support for institutional planning

Leadership Challenge (Paul Lingerfelter, Richard Novak, Richard Legon, 2008)

• Arises from uneven attraction to Board member selection process

• Improve the Board capacity and performance

• Select deserving executives on the basis of their understanding of institutional vision

and performance• Build greater merit into the appoint process• Ensure focus on high performance• Ensure needed delegation to intraprenuers

Needed Improvements from the Board• Form a standing committee on industrial

collaborations• Generate goals and objectives for consultancy

projects, innovations, & sponsored projects,• Encourage to plan and implement interdisciplinary

projects• Encourage internal revenue/fund generation

through sponsored research and development projects

• Encourage intrapreneurs• Empower them• Establish consultancy centers and extensions center

in the industrial corridors• Encourage consultancy center activities

Things to be avoided• Transfer of faculty members who have

undertaken research programs and projects• Ousting the dedicated technical and

support staff suddenly who are in the projects

• Use of project funds for unrelated activities• Adding more and more works to the key

project faculty• Delaying the release of funds for approved

project related activities• Concealing the inquires for the projects• Demanding the inclusion of unrelated

faculty in the ongoing projects

Summary • Intrapreneurs are key drivers

in various institutions and can serve as excellent leaders

• They further develop the institute to reach excellence.

• Institutes have to encourage and recognize successful intrapreneurs so that the institute could grow faster.

Thank you for your participation,

Your questions please.