Website Ranks RIT’s Student Incubator No. 1 in Country

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A. Sue Weisler

RIT’s Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship was named the top student incubator in the country by BestCollegesOnline.com.

BestCollegesOnline.com, a website that assists people in their search for colleges, ranks Rochester Institute of Technology’s student incubator, the Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as the top student incubator program offered by universities and colleges nationwide. RIT is in prestigious company on the list of 10 along with universities including Harvard, Syracuse and Boston University.

“RIT’s program really sticks out as an innovative program for new business, as it’s the only program we’ve seen that teaches entrepreneurship as a way of life,” says Jessica Merritt, staff writer for BestCollegesOnline.com. “It’s truly remarkable that RIT offers such a high level of immersion, collaboration and support for college entrepreneurs, and we’re proud to spread the word about this great program.”

The Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship was formed in 2007. It houses several entrepreneurship programs and gives students the opportunity to test out business ideas and create commercialization plans under the guidance of faculty mentors.

“We are proud to receive this recognition from BestCollegesOnline.com,” says Richard DeMartino, the Albert J. Simone Chair and director of the Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “RIT’s strategic strengths are in its unique technology, design/art and business academic portfolio combined with the university’s foundation in cooperative education. These factors allow RIT to create a student business incubator that differentiates from other universities and colleges.”

Student start-up companies created in the Simone Center could then transition to Venture Creations, RIT’s business incubator located just off the RIT campus. Venture Creations works with start-up companies with high growth potential that are beyond the proof-of-concept stage.

“After years of working with them, we see students whose products and business concepts evolve in the commercialization process go on to become client companies at Venture Creations,” DeMartino says. “It’s all part of the innovation ecosystem that RIT has created to build entrepreneurs and innovators from the ground up.”