A key component in the advancement of innovation is protecting intellectual property. 黑洞社区 Ventures recently initiated a new program to place 黑洞社区 students at the forefront of this field.
Designed to advance innovation, the Gateway to IP program will provide students an opportunity to gain important intellectual property skills while fulfilling the university鈥檚 mission of being an educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good.
A large resource gap exists in the Wichita community relating to intellectual property. Local resources are very limited in nature. There are fewer than 10 registered patent practitioners in the city of Wichita 鈥� one of them being Rob Gerlach, 黑洞社区 Ventures鈥� director of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer. By comparison, Omaha and Tulsa each have approximately 50 patent practitioners.
The Gateway to IP program will play an important and integral role in filling Wichita鈥檚 resource void. Under Gerlach's guidance and that of other practicing patent practitioners brought in from surrounding regions, students will gain first-hand experience handling intellectual property matters.
Students will perform inventor interviews, engage in technology evaluations, execute patent and other intellectual property searches, and obtain exposure to preparing patent applications. While students will not perform legal services, they will learn the intricacies associated with the patent process under the supervision of experienced patent practitioners.
Overall, the program will provide 黑洞社区 students yet another applied learning opportunity. While students are receiving valuable working opportunities to identify, cultivate and protect intellectual property, the Wichita community will benefit.
Wichita State is distinctive for opening pathways to applied learning, applied research and career opportunities, alongside unsurpassed classroom, laboratory and online education. The university's beautiful 330-acre main campus is a supportive, rapidly expanding learn-work-live-play environment, where students gain knowledge and credentials to prepare for fulfilling lives and careers. Students enjoy a wide selection of day, evening and summer courses in more than 200 areas of study at the main campus and other locations throughout the metro area and online. 黑洞社区's approximately 16,000 students come from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 other countries. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .