InventorCloud Partners with Believe in Ohio Program

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – InventorCloud, a program developed by local company Applied Systems & Technology Transfer, or AST2, has partnered with the Believe in Ohio initiative to provide participating schools with access to a virtual entrepreneurial course and 3-D rapid prototyping technology.

The collaboration allows Believe in Ohio schools to receive immediate access to a “self paced virtual entrepreneurial course” at no cost, according to an announcement from Believe in Ohio. The partnership would also make available 3-D prototyping technology to schools for a modest fee.

“The development of a prototype for an entrepreneurial product idea is an important part of the commercialization process,” Stephen McConoughey, CEO of the Ohio Academy of Science and co-director of Believe in Ohio, said in a statement. “We are pleased to be able to make this capability and entrepreneurial resources available to those schools that are participating in the Believe in Ohio program.”

InventorCloud offers K-16, standards-aligned courses that blend science, technology, engineering and mathematics — or STEM — disciplines and design-thinking with rapid prototyping equipment. Students solve design challenges and build solutions using equipment such as the Invent3D printer. The program is active in 100 schools.

“Designing and building prototypes provides students a tremendous opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial concept and demonstrate viability,” said Jack Scott, founder of AST2 and chairman of the not-for-profit Advanced Methods in Innovation, which licenses the InventorCloud program. “We believe the prototyping process in an integral, realistic aspect of a true entrepreneurial endeavor.”

Believe in Ohio was developed by the Ohio Academy of Science and Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio with the support of the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio General Assembly. The objective is to attract young people to STEM education through virtual courses exploring the state’s “innovation economy”; help students understand the importance of STEM education; and pursue their education and entrepreneurial efforts in Ohio.

Pictured: Rapid prototyping equipment used in the InventorCloud program.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.