Villanova University receives $150,000 in Keystone Innovation Grant funding

CHESTER —Governor Edward G. Rendell on Wednesday announced more than $6.4 million to attract more of the world’s leading academic faculty to Pennsylvania’s colleges, universities and medical institutions and help launch strong companies that can develop and commercialize new products, while creating new opportunities for Pennsylvania’s graduates.

The new investments will help build partnerships between Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities, communities and companies to launch new business endeavors in the commonwealth—many geared towards fast—growing areas of the advanced technology sector.

The multi-million investment includes a $150,000 grant to Villanova University under the Keystone Innovation Grant (KIG) program. The purpose of the grant is to provide seed funding for senior and research projects at Villanova and Widener Universities to help advance preliminary but promising ideas developed by students and faculty. Funding will be utilized to produce proof of concepts, develop prototypes, and evaluate the commercial viability of promising technologies. Students and faculty in the Colleges of Engineering and Schools of Business will participate in the projects. The grant aims to start a chain reaction that will move creative ideas from the laboratory to economically viable products. The ultimate goal is to create jobs in Delaware County by spinning off companies from the activities that will be seeded and evaluated by the grant and through the Delaware County KIZ program.

The Delaware County KIZ was established with Villanova and Widener as the host institutions of higher education for the Delaware County KIZ, a state-designated area for encouragement of innovative thinking, creativity and technology transfer through strong local partnerships and resources. The Delaware County KIZ assists local entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and progressive businesses with implementing an innovative idea from start to finish.

The Delaware County KIZ facilitates partnerships between community players, economic development organizations and education institutions which provide clients with local resources and services for development, innovation, and growth that will enable emerging companies to move forward with developing and commercializing their products and processes. Equally as important, the Delaware County KIZ is a catalyst to partner emerging tech-based companies with Widener and Villanova Universities.

According to KIZ Coordinator E. Jean Krack, the Delaware County KIZ is operated under a Board of Operating Partners which includes University Technology Park, Villanova University, Widener University, Crozer-Keystone Health System, Chester Economic Development Authority (CEDA), Delaware County Commerce Center (DCCC), Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC), Ben Franklin Technology Partners – Southeast Pennsylvania (BFTP-SEP).

To find out more about the Delaware County KIZ, visit www.delcokiz.org.