Alanna Gillis

Staff Writer

amg7393@psu.edu

Innovation Commons is a staple of the Penn State Behrend campus. However, there is a lot about this mainly-student-run aspect of campus that many other students may not be aware of. 

The purpose of Innovation Commons, according to Jake Marsh, Industry Relations Coordinator, is “product development as a service for free.” The goal is to create the best possible experience for students, while also generating a positive economic impact. Typically, this involves working with entrepreneurs and helping them further their product ideas. 

Innovation Commons is part of a “larger beehive network” involving other libraries and universities in the Erie area. Behrend’s Innovation Commons was the first site of the network. However, that does not mean this campus is the first stop of entrepreneurs. Typically, they will start at Gannon University, with business planning. Mercyhurst University does business intelligence, while Edinboro University handles “the whole package of marketing and branding,” including graphic design and more. The Blasco Library and the Erie Library System are the places where the most public outreach occurs. Marsh describes this aspect of the “beehive” as “the place for the public to have fun” with a “maker-space.” They also offer entrepreneurship classes for any member of the community wanting to broaden their horizons. 

Behrend’s place in this “beehive network” involves multiple facets of product creation and design. PSB “does more than just product design,” says Marsh, “we also do app design.” He strongly believes that the “best faction is user experience” within Behrend’s app design process. 

Behrend also has Industry 4.0 training, which “Integrates more complex aspects of industry, like AI and sensors.” In fact, Marsh shared that Burke 109 is converting to be this type of laboratory. 

The open lab aspect of Innovation Commons is very important, according to Marsh, as it allows Innovation Commons and Behrend students to work with big companies. This lab is “constantly evolving and changing” Marsh says, which allows for Innovation Commons to constantly broaden its horizons and improve user experience.

“We’ll go out of our way to make sure we’re accessible to everyone,” Marsh comments, which is unsurprising considering the huge amount of success Innovation Commons has had. Marsh shared that the Commons itself has worked on over 250 projects, and the whole network has handled over 400. Innovation Commons has also helped over 150 entrepreneurs realize their passions, and has allowed for over 15 patents to be taken out. In fact, students who worked with the entrepreneur on their patent product can be listed as co-inventors. This does not detract from the entrepreneur’s ownership, and it adds credence to the students’ names who worked on the project. There is no specific number Marsh has for the number of businesses created through the Commons, because the number is always changing. He would, however, estimate at least 15 have been developed. 

There are always new opportunities at Innovation Commons for PSB students. There is an “almost constant flow of companies” for students to work with, and many of these situations also result in students getting job offers in their futures. Working with Innovation Commons “gives students the face-to-face experience with companies” says Marsh, “Companies definitely hire out of our students.” On top of this, Innovation Commons gives students “a sense of accomplishment” for their part in the creation process. 

Any student with an idea can make use of the resources at Innovation Commons. “Any student can go to Innovation Commons and create an invention” Marsh encourages. He adds that “no tuition money goes to Innovation Commons,” and that all of their funding comes from grants and donations.