Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/201447
Green Collaboration 38 38 N o em b r No v e mb er/ Nov emb e r/ Dec emb er 201 November/December 2013 ov m m b r 201 2013 0 Bi Ed BizEd BizEd iz I Other events. One was a "Green Community Day" that featured a showcase of GLP companies, as well as speakers, panels, and student presentations that focused on the green economy. We've also hosted several "GLP Roundtable" meetings at the State House to provide updates to the governor of New Hampshire and interested members of the media. In addition, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited one of the GLP companies, and his visit was attended by thengovernor John Lynch and UNH president Mark Huddleston. Successes So Far Of the 140 proposals submitted since GLP's inception, 14 have grown into successful New Hampshire companies, including four in green manufacturing, four in energy efficiency, and six in renewable energy. One company is based on the research of a UNH chemistry professor; another was started by a team of alumni and faculty from Dartmouth College's engineering school. Since receiving support from GLP, two have received competitive grant funding, four have raised additional money from private investors, and ten have already begun to sell new products or services. While GLP was funded by the Department of Energy for its first I MAG ESOU RCE /G LOW I MAG ES MA E SO RC E LO W MA G S M AG S OU M Extra Efforts To help these seed-stage companies develop their own market presence, GLP organizes community events that introduce consumers, government officials, and members of the media to GLP companies so potential customers will have these ventures on their radar. So far, these events have included: I Energetic Conversations tours. These allow GLP members to show how their green products and services could save energy and money. During the tours, the entrepreneurs meet with state agencies and energy-related partners to discuss critical issues, and they connect with organizations that might offer financial backing. One GLP company was working on a huge solar array installation for a local high school, and as a result the team members had a chance to talk with high school students and raise their interest in green energy. I Green Entrepreneurship seminars. This seminar series covers financial issues, such as securing startup financing; legal issues, such as protecting intellectual property and writing contracts; and other topics such as advertising, making sales, and hiring employees. Any entrepreneur in the state can attend, including members of winning teams, other GLP applicants, finalists, and future entrepreneurs. The GLP leadership team at UNH arranges the seminars. While the GLP is based at the University of New Hampshire, it was always intended to have a statewide reach, and we knew one way to accomplish that was to engage faculty and students from other colleges and universities. We wanted Dartmouth College's involvement, because the school has an active technology-based entrepreneurial network and is located only about two hours away in Hanover. So far, Dartmouth has participated in GLP in several ways: Its vice president for research has served on the advisory board; the director of the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network spoke at one of our Green Entrepreneurship seminars; and Dartmouth students have interned at GLP companies. Southern New Hampshire University, located in Hooksett, is even closer—about an hour away. While we don't have a direct relationship with SNHU, one of the GLP companies hired a student from SNHU to work on its business development. UNH manages the hiring process for the student interns, no matter which school they attend. In the past two years, we've hired ten to 12 students per year from disciplines such as business, science, engineering, liberal arts, and law. They're expected to work between 20 and 40 hours a week during the summer and ten hours a week during the academic year. Faculty and student interns are paid for their work—from GLP funds, not from funds awarded to the teams. In the 2013–2014 school year, the GLP plans to fund teams of student entrepreneurs. Our goal is to include students from New Hampshire community colleges so that they, too, have opportunities to contribute toward product development in the green energy field—and enjoy a collaborative learning experience at the same time.