The Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results, or TI:GER program, is a unique collaboration between Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) that brings together business, law, and science. TI:GER organizes students into teams comprised of two GA Tech MBA students, two Emory Law students, and a PhD candidate in the field of science or engineering.
During the TI:GER program, students are directly involved in the innovation process and work together to bring discoveries to the marketplace. Teams are challenged with the task of preparing a commercialization strategy and business plan based around the PhD candidate’s research. One of the hallmarks of the program is that the economic, regulatory, and legal issues are considered prior to the research being completed. These considerations can then be incorporated into the research plan and commercial development strategy.
The two year program includes multiple components, ranging from classroom instruction and guest lectures, to internships and networking. Students also have the opportunity to directly engage with start-up companies in GA Tech’s incubator, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).
Tyler Dutton, an Emory Law student in the program, explained that TI:GER helps students learn about and apply patent law, contract law, venture capital, angel investors, company valuation, pitch strategies, the business model canvas, and many other interrelated concepts. Dutton truly appreciates the skills he has been able to develop, saying, “I knew that TI:GER was a unique program and I would learn valuable skills, but the biggest surprise has been the level of skills, especially business skills, I have developed.”
Dutton is currently in his second year of the program and has already worked with a PhD project and two start-up companies. Dutton and his team partnered with students at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich to advise a German start up company. The company was interested in learning about U.S. venture capital firms and how they differ culturally from their German counterparts. As a part of the project, Tyler had the opportunity to travel to Germany to meet his colleagues and visit the European Patent Office, a venture capital firm, and the Munich Entrepreneurship Center. At the conclusion of the project, the team successfully put together a project plan to move that project forward.
Rohan Vora, a current GA Tech MBA student in the program, appreciates the involvement of the local startup community in the program. He has had the opportunity to work with and be mentored by serial entrepreneurs, legal mentors, venture capitalists, and other professionals from the local Atlanta area. Vora credits their involvement as a huge component of the program’s success.
Beyond engaging with the local startup community, Vora highlights the multi-disciplinary nature of the program as the biggest and most challenging aspect. As he explains, “When a team consists of members who are pursuing three varied career choices (MBA, JD and PhD), team dynamics are very exciting. There is a tremendous opportunity to learn how people approaching the same problem and devise strategies to address various parts of that problem in order to come up with a more robust solution.”
David Giannantonio, a former Emory Law and TI:GER program student, now currently working as the Contract Specialist for Emory University’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), believes that the TI:GER program provides a strong, comprehensive introduction to the hurdles that small technology-based startup companies face: “The TI:GER program takes a unique, practical approach to exposing students to the business, legal, and scientific issues that entrepreneurs encounter when attempting to commercialize early stage technologies. By taking such a multidisciplinary approach, the TI:GER program gives students a feel for the real world problems that technology-based startup companies must overcome to be successful.”
The diverse makeup of participants in the TI:GER program, as well as its proven local, national, and international impact, will no doubt continue to serve as a draw for Emory and GA Tech students.