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TTC Program Highlights

For years, small businesses have been making huge contributions to Pennsylvania’s economic growth. According to the latest figures by the U.S. Department of Commerce, nearly half of the new jobs created were by firms with fewer than 20 employees. The Technology Collaborative (TTC), a statewide economic development organization, focuses specifically on creating and nurturing technology startups, primarily in the areas of advanced electronics, embedded systems, cyber security and robotics.

Our members include startups and expanding businesses, as well as world-class educational institutions Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State University, which spinout new companies looking to transform research into real products.  TTC’s mission is to mentor and grow these early-stage tech companies, thereby increasing the number of products that are designed, manufactured and consumed here, impacting the state’s technology-based economy. 

TTC offers a full range of programs and services designed to help its member companies get off the ground. These critical offerings are possible by the support of member dues, plus state, federal and foundation grants. A description of our key economic development programs and accomplishments through June 2009 are summarized below:

Technology Commercialization – Through its Technology Commercialization Program, TTC funds R & D to commercialize projects in areas such as: wireless and multimedia devices, on-chip sensors, memory, MEMS, VLSI design and test tools, low power/alternative power devices, wired/wireless networking, advanced materials and robotic technologies.

Program accomplishments – TTC has:

    • awarded $26.6 million in state-funded grants for 158 technology commercialization projects, which leveraged direct matching contributions of over $9.9 million
    • funded 78 company-led projects totaling $13.5 million, including projects with 21 university spinouts and 33 early-stage startup companies

National Center for Defense Robotics (NCDR) – TTC provides companies with access to federal funding to conduct defense robotics research for military applications, including unmanned systems, through a competitive white paper and full proposal submission process.

Program accomplishments – NCDR has:

    • secured $15.3 million in federal funding for development projects, directing over 75% of that funding to PA-based organizations
    • funded 45 external projects totaling nearly $12 million, including 35 company-led projects totaling $10 million and 10 university-led projects totaling $1.9 million
    • funded 14 start-up companies as part of the company-led projects, which in turn successfully raised over $13 million in additional financing

Workforce Development and Training – TTC funds the development and delivery of short-course training modules based on member needs. TTC also sponsors third-party courses that provide practical training to professional design engineers; reimburses members for allowable technical and management training expenses for their employees; and provides subsidy funding to help defray the salary costs of paid interns.

Program accomplishments – TTC has:

    • sponsored  34 TTC short courses and/or third-party courses for 60 member companies, which were delivered to over 950 staff members
    • provided 44 member companies (400 incumbent staff) with $350,000 in funding for reimbursement of allowable technical/management training expenses
    • subsidized the salary of 87 interns working at 48 TTC member companies
    • helped to secure nearly $500,000 in funding to support students and teachers at multiple SWPA secondary schools in a high school-to-associate-to-bachelors (2+2+2) Robotics technician and technologist program; with curriculum guidance provided by CMU and articulated college credit at California University of PA

University Technology Commercialization – TTC funds student teams at seven universities across the state to provide incentives, support and rewards for the successful spinout and commercialization of cybersecurity, assistive technology and robotics technologies. This funding has been administered through two separate TTC programs: The Pennsylvania Cyber Security Commercialization Initiative (PACSCI), which is now closed; and The Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Commercialization Initiative (PATCI)

Program accomplishments – TTC has:

    • funded over 55 student team projects at seven universities across PA
    • instituted statewide competitions for grant awards
    •  awarded 10 teams commercialization grants ($30,000) for startup company activity including commercialization, market study and pre-product development
    • helped seven of those 10 teams to create new startup companies

Talent Recruiting Program – TTC offers a full range of technical recruiting services including technical and university recruiting; representation of TTC member companies at job fairs; posting and screening internet career sites; and coordinating internship and co-op programs

Program accomplishments – TTC has:

    • helped nearly 40 TTC member companies recruit for full-time staff and interns
    • assisted in placing over 100 full-time technical staff and over 10 university interns at our member companies
      • the full-time placements were sourced from PA and 11 other states
      • the positions had an average annual salary of nearly $70,000
      • 17 placements were displaced workers and 11 were new graduates
    • offered all TTC members access to Human Resource consulting services and periodic training seminars

Business Startup and Attraction Support – TTC provides incubation space and business mentoring/support services that are designed to provide a soft landing and quick start up for new design/engineering centers being established in the region, and to help entrepreneurs start their companies in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Program accomplishments – TTC has:

    • provided nearly 70 companies with incubation space, business support services, and/or attraction subsidy funding
      • over 50 of these companies are still in business and have a presence in the region
      • they have collectively raised over $60 million in follow-on financing, with 6 of them securing venture capital
      • they have collectively created over 600 net new jobs in PA dating back to 2000

University Education – In the past, TTC sponsored the development of a collaborative system-on-chip (SoC) program at its three member universities (CMU, Pitt, PSU) and funded startup packages for new faculty in the areas of SoC and cybersecurity.

Program accomplishments – TTC has:

    • distributed $4,000,000 in Faculty Startup program funding to the three founding member universities, which have collectively hired 34 new faculty members
    • provided funding to support the Masters-level SoC Certificate program at all three member universities, from which 147 SoC Certificates have been awarded to graduating students
      • over 4,000 students have taken SoC courses

 

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