Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Philadelphia is a nexus of upcoming entrepreneurs, and Drexel University’s dedication to practical use of new knowledge is a huge reason why.

Our foundation of scholarly contributions with faculty, staff, and student expertise helps transform the next big idea into the next big reality for social and for-profit entrepreneurship, with the resources of a major city in our backyard.

Opportunities to Learn

The entrepreneurial spirit is embraced throughout the University and is woven into the curriculum of courses across all disciplines. Under the guidance of the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship and their dedicated team of knowledgeable industry experts, our Entrepreneurship Co-op opportunities encourage students to take that drive even further as they gain valuable work experience in established companies and startups and even in launching their own ventures. Those starting or building their own company can be selected to receive a $19,000 scholarship, mentorships, and a dedicated workspace to see their idea come to life. Many students are inspired to pursue entrepreneurship-related careers closely related to their co-op after graduation, bolstered by Drexel's emphasis on the following:

Sustainability and Impact

In a changing world, entrepreneurship has changed as well. Many Dragons are interested in ensuring their companies can be a force for good, and Drexel supports this in several ways— not only through the affiliations and partnerships we help make, but our Environmental Collaboratory seeks to co-fund, co-design, and co-implement solutions that drive systemic change as related to the climate justice needs of our communities and the developing climate emergency.

Experience Drexel: Tackling Food Insecurity

As an undergraduate student in Drexel University’s Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship, Evan Ehlers founded Sharing Excess, a now-national nonprofit dedicated to fighting food insecurity and improving the lives of at-risk community members across the country. This is a University providing students with real-world experiences that matter.

Innovation Ecosystem

The city of Philadelphia and our surrounding region is a growing hotbed of innovation, inspiring all within it to continue to push boundaries and test the limits of what we can achieve. Drexel has an incredible variety of assets to help you develop as an entrepreneur.

Here are just some of the entrepreneurship and innovation resources available at Drexel:

Students from any of our programs are invited — and encouraged — to take courses in entrepreneurship and embrace their individual innovative spirit.

Resources to Launch

Drexel Applied Innovation staff work with Drexel faculty and student researchers to identify new technologies that may have commercial potential, then work with intellectual property counsel to secure patent or copyright protection and negotiate license agreements with industry, investors, and entrepreneurs to bring those technologies to market.

Patents and Licenses

Our experienced team guides inventors through the patenting process with the goal of filing the best patent application possible while reducing paperwork for researchers. We have excellent industry contacts and years of experience negotiating contracts that work for both inventors and companies.

Available Technologies

Coulter-Drexel Translational Research Partnership

The annual grant sponsors collaborative translational research projects led by teams of biomedical engineers, clinical researchers, and other scientists and engineers.

Coulter-Drexel Translational Research Partnership

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Opportunities to Learn

Sustainability and Impact

Innovation Ecosystem

Resources to Launch

Patents and Licenses

Coulter-Drexel Translational Research Partnership

News