HispanicBusiness

Five Milwaukee area universities have received a five-year, $1 million matching grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to form a coalition that will support entrepreneurs and start-ups.

The Wisconsin Center for Commercialization Resources must match the funding with another $1 million, said Sammis White, an urban planning professor at the University of Wisconsin -- Milwaukee and co-director of the new organization.

The schools involved are UWM, Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, University of Wisconsin -- Whitewater and University of Wisconsin -- Parkside. The center's goal is to turn ideas into commercially viable ventures by providing resources and services that support entrepreneurs from concept to launch.

"There are still people out there who do not understand how to move forward with ideas they have, and we are really an intermediary that will help them assess who they are and who they should talk to next," White said.

The center is unique because it will link the five universities and encourage them to share resources both inside and outside of their organizations, White said. Along with resources available at the schools, the center is leveraging partnerships with BizStarts, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin, Milwaukee 7, Wisconsin Energy Research Consortium, the Milwaukee Water Council, and other regional groups.