Ball State University is developing a business incubator program to assist students in creating their own businesses.

Funded by a $60,000 grant from the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, the project will focus on fostering an entrepreneurial movement within the university's growing communications and information technology sectors.

"This will be part of the continuing development of a culture that encourages students to pursue and explore technology," said Dave Ferguson, director of Ball State's Center for Media Design. "Ball State has many extremely intelligent and competitive students who could become successful entrepreneurs with the proper guidance and infrastructure.

"We want students, as well as our faculty, to develop ideas and products that would have viable commercial applications," he said. "The university already has one of the nation's top entrepreneurship programs within the College of Business. We will tap into that expertise to guide our program."

The student incubator project consists of three phases. First is marketing the project to faculty through the Idea Mart, an on-campus think tank headed by Joe Misiewicz, a telecommunications professor.

Misiewicz is working with students to develop business ideas for the incubator. In the coming weeks, faculty will be asked to recommend additional students to participate in a weekly class this spring.

"Class sessions would focus on creativity, innovation, diffusion of ideas and developing working models of various concepts and plans," Misiewicz said. "Once the various concepts are unraveled, business and marketing plans would be developed. Then, there would be a 10-week summer session to develop as least one business plan that could become operational in the fall of 2004."

The business may find its initial home in the Muncie Innovation Connector (MIC), a business incubator program housed in several refurbished residences next to campus. The incubator is a partnership between Ball State, Cardinal Health Systems and the City of Muncie. Launched in October 2002, the MIC houses four business enterprises and one service provider.

Another location for a new business may be within an existing business or space provided by a local government agency.

If there is a need for a final boost to generate new start-ups, Ball State would seek additional grant funding for 2004-2005 to keep viable business ideas ready for implementation in the coming years.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Fergusonat dferguson@bsu.edu or (765) 285-0123. Misiewicz may be reached at jmisiewicz@bsu.edu or (765) 285-2466.)