In its second year of existence, the Entrepreneurial Technology Apprenticeship Program (ETAP) is providing a unique opportunity to American college students.

The world of technology-based business is a fast growing segment of the nation’s economy. While delivering new products for the world’s communication, medical, environmental, industrial, and societal needs, technology-based business is also creating high salary jobs for an “educated” workforce. At the same time, our country’s workforce is growing in cultural diversity with many experts calling for national policies and programs which create educational and career opportunities in science, engineering, business and entrepreneurship, for minority and disadvantaged youth to meet our future workforce requirements. ETAP is a small but highly successful model enabling qualified minority and disadvantaged students to gain real world experience and skills in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.

ETAP was established to stimulate, encourage, and excite qualified minority students to pursue careers in technology management.

The program was designed and developed through a public/private partnership of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s National Technology Transfer Center (NASA’s NTTC), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), several Historically Black Colleges/Universities and Minority Serving Institutions (HBCU/MIs), and leaders from business, university, and technology communities.

For a university to take part in this apprenticeship program, it must be an accredited U.S. college or university granting the Bachelor’s degree or higher in appropriate disciplines, that will award an appropriate number of credit hours for successful completion of the academic year. It also must be designated as a HBCU or MSI, or be an inclusive institution with demonstrated outreach and support for underrepresented minority students. Participating universities for the 1998/1999 academic year include: Central State University in Ohio, Florida A&M University, New Mexico State University, North Carolina A&M University, San Diego Sate University, Southern University-Baton Rouge, LA, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and Wilberforce University in Ohio.

Who Can Apply

The program accepts applications from students who have matriculated at participating campuses; who are full-time college students; who are second semester juniors (or above at the time of application); and willing to commit a full twelve month period to complete the apprenticeship. In the first year of this program, three HBCUs and twelve host facilities participated in ETAP. Thirteen students received ETAP awards. One student was a junior, seven were seniors, and five students had just graduated and were pursuing advanced degrees. There were six African-American males, five African-Americans females, and two Caucasian males. The student apprentices ranged in age from 20 to 33 years old.

Student Orientation and Host Placement

After acceptance to the program, the student apprentices attend an eight week long, structured academic orientation program at Wheeling Jesuit College, Wheeling, West Virginia, during the summer. The orientation focuses on specific academic training in technology transfer and commercialization. The students work in teams to develop “business plans” and make presentations. Seminars on Internet and word processing skills, resume writing, interviewing skills, presentation skills, financial planning, intellectual property, technology assessment, technology marketing, commercializing technologies, laboratory outreach, and mentoring are attended. Students are paid a stipend and receive academic credit for their summer course work from Wheeling.

The intensive academic training is followed by a nine month comprehensive hands-on, applied training experience at a cooperating apprenticeship host site where each student will learn business and market research skills, and assist with feasibility studies, market analysis, and business plans for new and emerging technology-based companies. Students receive a monthly stipend of $1,600 as well as a travel budget.

A host site is chosen to provide a substantive apprenticeship experience in technology management/technology transfer from September through May. An on-site coordinator, a supervisor, and a mentor (may be one or multiple persons) is assigned to provide professional support and guidance to the apprentice. A sample of host sites for academic year 1998/1999 can be found on the ETAP website: www.nttc.edu/nttcnews/techapp/etap.html