Six mid-Atlantic and Northeast institutions have built their work around a simple rhythm: meet regularly, compare notes candidly, and turn shared ideas into local action. This is the EPIIC project LIGHT UP: Leveraging Innovation to Grow High Tech and University Partnerships — a collaboration among Alvernia University (Pennsylvania), Bowie State University (Maryland), Marymount University (Virginia), Kean University and Rowan College at Burlington County (New Jersey), and SUNY Canton (New York).
As part of EPIIC Cohort 1, these LIGHT UP institutions have been building campus-specific efforts since receiving funding in 2023, all aimed at strengthening applied learning, moving research toward impact, and deepening regional partnerships.
At Alvernia, that work is centered on scaling applied research through the O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship — expanding student learning, faculty-led projects, and local business collaborations. “We’re focusing more on providing students with hands-on experiences and linking up with community partners and … bringing new research into the market,” says Alvernia’s Bernude Heaps. “We have a mentorship program where they work with people already involved in the field who guide them through that whole process.”
Kean is building the infrastructure to translate faculty work into commercialization through its Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization. “We now have an established set of resources, policies, and pipeline … to engage with our faculty and bring them through the commercialization process,” says Marshall Hayes, Executive Director for Kean’s Office of Science and Technology. In parallel, Bowie State is expanding research and entrepreneurship capacity while strengthening industry and government ties; Marymount is connecting classroom learning to real-world application, including a joint student research conference with Rowan College; Rowan College is supporting regional innovation and workforce initiatives and creating platforms for partnership; and SUNY Canton is integrating research, entrepreneurship, and workforce development — especially through applied work in engineering and cybersecurity — while expanding tech-transfer capacity.
Lessons Learned
Ask the team what they’ve learned together over the last few years, and three themes rise to the top — takeaways that incoming cohorts can put to work.
Collaborate deeply. Partnership has been essential. Alvernia turned to Bowie and Marymount for guidance on student engagement, while Bowie sought Alvernia’s input on tech-transfer policy. Marymount and Alvernia are also pursuing ABET accreditation together, sharing lab experiments and curricula. “We are learning from each other,” says Harishchandra Aryal, assistant professor at Marymount.
Share resources generously. A key benefit of the cohort is resource exchange. “I think one of the real benefits of being in this cohort is that we were able to share resources that we wouldn’t have ordinarily thought of as anything extraordinary but realizing that we have something to share with the cohort members,” says Michele Snyder, Dean of SUNY’s School of Science, Health, and Criminal Justice. SUNY Canton also drew on Bowie’s cybersecurity expertise as it advances approval for its first master’s degree in that field. “Most of the colleges here have cybersecurity programs,” Snyder notes. “And we've been able to leverage their expertise as SUNY Canton moves forward, specifically in cybersecurity.”
Adapt as you go. Flexibility has been another hallmark. Kean’s project began with a focus on tech commercialization but evolved to include broader research development and coordination. “That’s all been rolled into our efforts to build the Office of Tech Commercialization and build out the office of research development for the university,” says Keith Bostian, Associate Provost for Science and Technology at Kean University.
Ultimately, the cohort’s strength lies in how quickly its members learn from one another — and apply those lessons. “What we have done is share our stories with each other,” says Bostian. “We’ve gotten to know each other well enough that we’ve learned what the issues are and what the efforts are at the different universities.”
“Just being affiliated with other universities, hearing their stories, learning from what they're doing, and then trying to think of how that fits into what your goals and challenges are … that's an important part of what's coming out of this EPIC relationship,” Bostian adds.