Friday, October 16, 2009

Syracuse Tech Garden showcases some emerging technologies

For a small university town, the challenges of attracting large corporates to set up shop and operate are huge. Syracuse is coping well with this challenge and has established the Syracuse technology garden which hosted its Fall 2009 technology expo yesterday. An interesting event which drew a few emerging companies in the field of Bio-fuels, Software, Gaming and healthcare.

The expo was a success in that it showcased what innovation is taking place in the city as well as the capabilities of its young entrepreneurs. The technology which most caught my attention was one developed by students of Cornell University, Ithaca ( not too far from Syracuse) which helps patients get physiotherapy etc..through a miniature device. It seems to be a significant achievement and the group won the best innovation award from their participation last season.

Though this was a good expo, it did not seem to have the scale or the magnitude that should have been. None of the larger firms either sponsored any of the projects or were showcasing their products. The big boys club was conspicuous by its absence.

The larger question still remains : How does one bridge the industry-academia gap in a small university town ?

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