This Saturday, 3-14-2020, on Development Matters WARF, URP, and the Wisconsin Idea

One of the longest and deepest traditions surrounding the University of Wisconsin is the "Wisconsin Idea" based on a general principle: that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Synonymous with Wisconsin for more than a century, this “Idea” has become the guiding philosophy of university outreach efforts in Wisconsin and throughout the world.

Few thing exemplify the Wisconsin Idea more than the combination of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation or WARF which among other things holds and markets Patents coming out of the UW...

the University Research Park a research and technology park that supports individuals and business from idea to in many cases a global company...

and the companies that have grown out of these organizations.

Today we have representatives of all three components to talk about what they are, what they do, and to share some of the success stories.

Mike Partsch, Chief Venture Officer, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

Jessica Martin Eckerly, CEO and Co-Founder, Forward BioLabs

WARF invests in the university by partnering with UW–Madison to steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment.

Founded in 1925 by visionary alumni, WARF is among the oldest and most successful technology transfer offices in the nation. As the designated patent and licensing organization for UW–Madison, WARF advances transformative discoveries to the marketplace to benefit humankind across Wisconsin and the world.

URP is an internationally recognized research and technology park that supports early-stage, and growth-oriented businesses in a range of sectors, including engineering, computational and life sciences.

Forward BIOLABS’ co-working life science labs are fully equipped, maintained, and supported, and come with concierge introductions, training, and networking that help startups grow. Providing life science laboratories and associated lab support infrastructure, enabling lab work to begin on day 1. Unlike other technology startups that seem to run on wireless internet, bottomless coffee, and pizza, life science startups face special barriers. They often require expensive and specialized equipment, intensive technical advice, and greater amounts of capital to navigate regulatory approvals and long product development cycles.