MUSC Innovation Gateway platform supports campus innovators

Enterprisewide, everyone at MUSC is encouraged to solve problems creatively. Now, there is an easy tool to help them take their innovative ideas and projects to the next level - the MUSC Innovation Gateway. This tool serves as a key support mechanism that feeds and elevates the culture of innovation at MUSC.

The portal, created by the Office of Innovation in collaboration with Information Solutions and the MUSC Foundation for Research Development, serves as a one-stop connection to all things innovative in the MUSC system. Users can submit ideas and be automatically connected to teams and resources in the MUSC innovation community.

According to Jesse Goodwin, Ph.D., MUSC chief innovation officer, the portal is an easy, user-friendly tool and a valuable way to understand and navigate MUSC’s robust, but complex, innovation ecosystem. Goodwin is excited to launch it, as MUSC’s innovation effort welcomes ideas of all types from people in all of MUSC’s divisions across the system. “No longer does an individual with an idea need to know the name of a specific team or department that is equipped to help. The Innovation Gateway does that for them. And, the portal’s online accessibility is helpful as MUSC expands its innovation culture across all of its campuses," Goodwin said.

 

Since its launch in March, MUSC innovators have used the portal to submit ideas ranging from the development of new software or algorithms to medical devices and care pathways. The Gateway serves as a convenient path for submitting a record of invention to the MUSC Foundation for Research Development, according to Goodwin. MUSC receives as many as 150 records of invention each year for ideas related to research outcomes, research materials and drug/therapeutic development.

Another key feature available on the Innovation Gateway is a link to funding opportunities. Since innovation is not always free, MUSC provides several funding opportunities and resources to help advance ideas with high potential for impact, said Goodwin. “Many of the ideas have the potential for intellectual property. As such, it’s important to bring awareness to both funding and intellectual property resources that MUSC offers, without requiring people to navigate multiple websites for information that’s important to an idea’s success. It’s our equivalent to the ‘easy button’ for innovators."

Soon, the Gateway will feature categories related to intellectual property and other such resources.

Under the OneMUSC strategic plan, MUSC is amplifying its focus on and support of activities related to innovation, including the annual Innovation Week celebration, which gathers creative minds on campus to present and showcase ingenious ideas in health care through poster presentations and collaborative Shark Tank competition events — activities that continue to feed a vigorous culture of innovation at MUSC.

For more information, visit the MUSC Innovation Gateway.