Position N.C. PSI as a Regional Hub for Plant Sciences Economic Impact

There are numerous financial opportunities associated with aggressively working to catalyze N.C. PSI research into commercialized products and ideas that spark partnerships, licensing and company creation, thereby delivering a multiplier effect on our state’s economy well beyond the research itself. In 2021 alone, more than $10 billion in private equity investment and over 750 individual investments were made in ag-tech sectors. Many involved areas of high activity for N.C. PSI, including plant sciences, sensor development, precision agriculture, indoor agriculture and crop protection.

Beyond the clear financial benefits, N.C. PSI has a clear opportunity to position our region as a hub for plant sciences commercialization activities, leveraging the collective intellectual capacity that already exists at NC State and nearby universities with private industry in areas like Research Triangle Park. N.C. PSI can serve as a convener of these many assets, directing this significant capacity in the form of interdisciplinary research projects focused on solving the grandest, most complex challenges in the plant sciences and agriculture. We must be intentional about identifying and cultivating these assets in an environment where there are clear benefits for becoming part of this entrepreneurship ecosystem.

GOAL 1.3.1: EXPAND TECH TRANSFER AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF N.C. PSI RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

KEY INITIATIVES

Key Initiative 1: Partner with the Office of Research Commercialization to design tech transfer training, technical assistance, mentorship and incubation programs for N.C. PSI-affiliated researchers

Key Initiative 2: Develop and resource a patent fund for N.C. PSI-affiliated projects

Key Initiative 3: Work with university leadership to recognize and incentivize commercialization successes generated by interdisciplinary research activities

GOAL 1.3.2: SPUR GREATER ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACROSS THE N.C. PSI ECOSYSTEM

KEY INITIATIVES

Key Initiative 1: Establish an entrepreneur in residence (EIR) program for N.C. PSI research outputs or ideas with high-growth capabilities or potential

Key Initiative 2: Develop financial and programming structures to support the N.C. PSI entrepreneurship ecosystem, including supplemental funding for internal faculty startups, resources for student challenges and events that support innovation and a speaker series to connect company founders and sector leaders’ knowledge with the N.C. PSI community

Key Initiative 3: Establish an entrepreneurship suite in the Plant Sciences Building featuring meeting and lab space dedicated to early-stage companies and serving as an incubator space for faculty developing concepts for commercialization

Wolfpack 2030 Alignment

• Goal 2: Ensure preeminence in research, scholarship, innovation and collaboration.

• Goal 6: Lead in developing innovative partnerships, entrepreneurial thinking and applied problem-solving.

• Goal 7: Elevate the national and global reputation and visibility of NC State.

STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1.4: Develop the Next Generation of Problem Solvers in Agriculture

N.C. PSI provides a unique training ground for a new breed of problem solvers. Our focus is on mobilizing, training and deploying the next-generation workforce that will not only solve the challenges of the future but serve communities and economies that look vastly different from those of today.

For K-12 students, this means building awareness of future workforce opportunities, generating excitement for the challenges that await these young minds, and establishing pathways to a career in plant science innovation. For NC State students, this means enhancing their access to prospective employers and gaining practical experience beyond higher education in the form of mentorship, internships and early-stage concept incubation. Whether here in North Carolina or around the world, the extensive footprint of our region’s leading employers should be leveraged. For faculty, this means helping them understand and navigate the pathways to generating a commercially viable concept, providing mentorship by an entrepreneur in residence, developing and protecting intellectual property, incubating and accelerating these concepts, securing necessary financial investments and ultimately establishing new revenue streams or building new entrepreneurs and companies in the process. For industry partners, this provides low barriers to entry in collaborating with some of the world’s leading researchers who can not only solve complex problems but do so in a way that helps to enhance the commercial viability of such solutions, identifying and building their future workforce through the diverse students engaged in our work and accessing environments for testing and de-risking new technologies before they are broadly applied or distributed.

GOAL 1.4.1: BUILD PATHWAYS FOR ALL LEARNERS TO ENGAGE WITH THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE

Key Initiatives

Key Initiative 1: In coordination with industry partners and existing university programs and centers, facilitate K-12 engagement with N.C. PSI through curriculum development, educational modules, in-service trainings and access to N.C. PSI resources like the demo lab

Key Initiative 2: Identify and form partnerships with other North Carolina higher education institutions, including minority-serving institutions and community colleges, to provide greater connectivity among students to N.C. PSI areas of focus, drive research collaborations and enhance overall career readiness among students

Key Initiative 3: Establish a process for understanding real-time industry workforce needs, coordinating the development and growth of programs that address these needs (e.g., certificate programs in precision or sustainable agriculture with an emphasis on those that involve applied experience)

GOAL 1.4.2: TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLANT SCIENCES RESEARCHERS

KEY INITIATIVES

Key Initiative 1: Establish partnership with academies and training programs to provide graduate student rotational placements within N.C. PSI-affiliated projects

Key Initiative 2: Develop and fund a one-year graduate student fellowship for N.C. PSI-affiliated researchers

Key Initiative 3: Establish N.C. PSI internship program, leveraging existing frameworks to place undergraduate and graduate students with N.C. PSI industry partners focused on international work-study opportunities

Key Initiative 4: Launch career services function for N.C. PSI-affiliated students to help connect and provide graduates with valuable research opportunities in N.C. PSI partner institutions, organizations and companies

Wolfpack 2030 Alignment

• Goal 1: Empower students for a lifetime of success and impact.

• Goal 2: Ensure preeminence in research, scholarship, innovation and collaboration.

• Goal 6: Lead in developing innovative partnerships, entrepreneurial thinking and applied problem-solving.

• Goal 7: Elevate the national and global reputation and visibility of NC State.

FOCUS AREA 2: