Photo Courtesy of NASA/GRC/Marvin Smith
NIU graduate students no longer must figuratively “shoot for the stars.” Thanks to a new partnership with NASA, they’ll be working with the people who help rockets get there.
Beginning last spring and continuing through the spring 2026 semester, our College of Business has been collaborating with the Office of Technology Integration and Partnerships of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center. Executive MBA and Global MBA students have had the opportunity to use NASA technology to develop commercialization reports in Associate Professor Furkan Gur’s MGMT 627.
Our technology commercialization project allows graduate students from across campus to work in groups throughout the semester on developing an invention assessment plan for a NASA technology. As part of this project, groups are given a unique opportunity to gain the rights to commercialize a NASA technology or NIU-based technology if they can convince the innovators that they have a solid plan for taking it to the market.
“The purpose of this group project is for students to develop practical skills for developing an understanding of a complex technology and its commercial applications, assessing its viability, and developing a model for its commercialization in a group setting similar to a real-life scenario,” said Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Furkan Gur.”
In business, a commercialization report is a document that outlines the process and progress of bringing a new product, service or technology to market. Associate Dean Sarah Marsh is excited about providing NIU MBA students with these opportunities.
“Our faculty continue to innovate to provide these experience-based learning opportunities. Students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and enhance their design thinking and innovation skills. These projects allow students to learn about this process in real time by developing a model for a real technology,” Marsh said.
“[The commercialization report] typically includes information on market analysis, target customers, intellectual property, product development stages, marketing strategy, financial projections, and potential challenges or risks associated with commercialization,” Gur said.
By participating in this project, students receive a certificate from NASA’s Technology Transfer Program and get to compete in NIU Graduate Technology Commercialization Challenge. Last April, the winners of the first challenge received their recognition and prizes at the Annual Friends of Entrepreneurship event. This spring, we look forward to holding the challenge again.
“Collectively, these partnerships are vital for our students because they get exposed to the
cutting-edge technology that NASA is working on, and they will have the ability to bring a fresh perspective to them to identify industrial and commercial applications of these technologies,” Gur said. “Moreover, students will earn a certification from NASA by being involved in these programs and have the opportunity to receive support from NASA if they decide to move forward in commercializing these technologies.”
Learn more about NASA’s Technology Transfer program.
Find out more about NIU’s MBA program.
