Troy, N.Y. - Entrepreneur magazine has named the technological entrepreneurship program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lally School of Management and Technology one of the 25 best entrepreneurial programs in the nation. The magazine's "Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges and Universities" feature is slated for the April 2003 issue, and will appear on newsstands March 25.

More than 700 entrepreneurship programs were researched for the piece, and final listings were based on more than 30 criteria, including curriculum, teaching and research faculty, degrees and certificates offered, research centers and institutes, advisory boards, and business-community outreach.

Rensselaer was lauded for fostering entrepreneurship through its faculty research and publications, Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship, Office of Technology Commercialization, and the nation's first on-campus business incubator. The Lally School's MBA program also provides students with significant opportunities to interact with an extensive network of successful entrepreneurs and to participate in venture capital presentations.

"Rensselaer has a long track record of success in providing its students with the skills they need to take their ideas and technologies to market," said Denis Fred Simon, dean of Rensselaer's Lally School. "Our 'techno-MBA program' channels the passion and energy of our students, and helps them develop new ideas and concepts into commercially relevant products and services. What differentiates Lally is our first-year MBA course, Design, Marketing and Manufacturing, which allows students the opportunity to develop, market, and create their own products and services."

Technological entrepreneurship - the ability to translate scientific discoveries into practical application - is a strategic focus at Rensselaer. President Shirley Ann Jackson has initiated the hire of a cabinet-level position of vice provost of entrepreneurship, the first such position at any school. Guided by the goals of The Rensselaer Plan, the university is enhancing scientific and technological entrepreneurship across the spectrum of its programs in education, research, exploitation of intellectual property, technology commercialization, new venture creation, and regional economic development.

About Rensselaer's Lally School
Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology was founded in 1963 as an integral part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation's oldest degree-granting technological university. Building on Rensselaer's heritage of more than 175 years of leadership in science and engineering, the Lally School is dedicated to advancing business through innovation. The Lally School's curriculum is designed to produce leaders who combine creative passion with the ability to integrate technology across business functions. The faculty emphasizes the value of hands-on experience available through campus resources such as the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the nation's first on-campus business incubator. Rensselaer's Lally School offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in management, doctoral programs in management and technology, an Executive MBA program, and a joint Sino-U.S. MBA for companies operating in China.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
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