The traditional model of graduating college and finding a job has been turned upside down. Are today's universities preparing students for lifelong learning and to succeed in the workplace? Academic incubators have emerged as a model that may help universities better prepare students for the job market by allowing garage innovation to prosper in a university environment.

1. © 2015 Gensler
Academic Incubators:
Garage innovation meets higher education

2. © 2015 Gensler
The traditional model of graduating
college and finding a job has been
turned upside down.
Are today’s universities preparing students
for lifelong learning and to succeed in the
workforce?

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Today’s tech success stories are idolized by
millennials...
And were also famously founded
by college drop-outs.

4. *Pew Research: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/30/5-facts-about-todays-college-graduates
** **Federal Reserve Bank of New York: http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci20-1.pdf
$
25,000
© 2015 Gensler
The number
of young people
making less than
$
25,000
has spiked to the
highest level since
the 1990s.*
44%
of college grads in their
20s are stuck in low-
wage, dead-end jobs.**
The recession has put millennials in the corner.

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27% of
millennials are
already self-
employed.*
Millennials
launched almost
160,000
startups each month
in 2011.*
Rather than looking for jobs,
they’ve turned to creating them.
*Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Young Invincibles (2011) Young Invincibles
Policy Briefing. http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/millennials-want-to-start-companieswhen-
economy-rebounds-poll-says.aspx

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*US Chamber of Commerce
**Kauffman Foundation - http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/2012/11/an-entrepreneurial-generation-
of-18-to-34yearolds-wants-to-start-companies-when-economy-rebounds-according-to-new-poll
92% of millennials
want increased access
to education & training
needed start a small
business.** 50% of students
in entrepreneurship
curriculum are
unsatisfied.*
60% of
millennials are
interested in
entrepreneurship.*
The desire to create is there; what’s missing
are the resources and connections

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Academic incubators can fill this gap.

8. What is an academic incubator?
A new kind
of place
Designed to spark
strategic partnerships
between academia
and industry; a
place to test and
grow ideas.
They connect
students to start-
ups, investors, and
institutions they
might not otherwise
encounter.
Academic incubators
provide the community,
resources, and physical
environments that
empower entrepreneurial
leaps.
© 2015 Gensler

9. To foster a
permanent connection
between industry
and academia
To retain
entrepreneurial
students, faculty,
and researchers
To remain
competitive
To maintain
relevance
Why are universities building them?
Today’s university students don’t just
want degrees; they want to launch
their own businesses.
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Share ideas. Make mistakes.
Work hard. Change the world.

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Depending on their unique mission
and vision, incubators may include:
co-working spaces maker spaces cafés
conference rooms lab spaces mentors concierge services

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Incubators merge garage
innovation with an academic
and business foundation.

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dreamers
angel
investors
...and more
venture
capitalists
tinkerers
free
agents
programmers
entrepreneurs
designers
Who uses incubator spaces?
Incubators are worlds unto
themselves, ecosystems
populated by the curious
and inquisitive, and not
limited to students.

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Students who want
to connect to the
professional world
Research organizations
seeking people who think
in entrepreneurial ways
Companies looking to
recruit top talent
Who uses incubator spaces?

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Industry:
• Mine intellectual capital
• Recruit talent
• Access to cutting-edge
research, without fully
funding it
Cities:
• Position as an innovation hub
• Attract businesses
• Spark new start-ups that
bring jobs
Universities:
• Relevance
• Attract the best students
What benefits do incubators offer?

16. How does design impact the success of an incubator?
Generates the right type of
connections and interactions
for cross-pollination
Provides an exciting,
inspirational environment
Encourages serendipitous
collaboration
Enables flexibility, yet not so flexible
nobody knows what to do with it
Offers students cues for
how to use the space © 2015 Gensler

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Successful incubators are
designed around the activities
you want to happen inside.

18. © 2015 Gensler
For more information on
Academic Incuabors:
www.Gensler.com/education