If you are interested in a very unique hands-on research opportunity to help shape a potential venture capital fund for sustainable – green technologies and service companies, you should consider taking ESP 300 – Applied Dynamics of Sustainability. The new Maxwell course offered by Dr. Jay Golden, Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability and Finance at Syracuse University will explore the feasibility of creating a fund to support new technologies and entrepreneurial activities across the University, working in conjunction with the LaunchPad at SU Libraries.
As part of a spring 2022 research capstone course, an interdisciplinary student research team of three to four students under the supervision of Dr. Golden will examine the opportunities and barriers in creating an external venture innovation fund that could consist of external philanthropic contributions and investments that are targeted at entrepreneurship across the global Syracuse community.
The fund would initially start with a focus on sustainable – green technologies. At a time of increased governmental policies, sustainability commitments by retailers, brands and manufacturers, as well as increased investor and consumer demand for sustainable products and services, there exists the growing opportunities to create a new generation of sustainable technologies and businesses.
By exploring different structures and approaches found at several research-intensive universities across the United States, the student project team will undertake a survey of existing programs and examine the drivers for the different structures as well as quantify the results to date of the different programs. This will include documenting ways for a Syracuse University fund to leverage existing state, regional and local venture funds.
An additional goal of a Syracuse fund is to leverage the power of the Syracuse alumni network not just for philanthropic support but also to match alumni expertise with Syracuse University innovators to support growth and success.
The student-based research project will be undertaken during the spring 2022 semester, and it is anticipated that the Report of Findings can be used to evaluate the potential of commissioning a more in-depth professional project.
Interested? Want more information? Contact Dr. Golden, Jgolde04@syr.edu