Technology Innovation Workshop For Senior Managers
Amman, Jordan (Jan 2008) - David Pensak, an internationally known leader of computer software technology and innovation, has joined The George Washington University Law School’s Creative and Innovative Economy Center (CIEC) as a research fellow and will embark on a series of workshops to be hosted in developing countries around the globe, the first of which happened on 16/1/2008 in Jordan. Pensak conducted research at the Dupont Corporation for more than 30 years.
During that time, he engaged in additional entrepreneurial business ventures, including Raptor Systems, the computer software security company that developed and brought to market the first commercially successful Internet firewall. He also founded Authentica, which was subsequently acquired by storage giant, EMC. Additionally, he developed several seminal technologies which helped make digital rights management possible. One of Pensak’s first assignments as a research fellow at the law school’s center is to conduct a workshop for senior technology managers in Amman, Jordan. In addition to Jordan, Pensak and the center also plan to conduct “innovention” workshops in India, Brazil, and China later this year.
Technology Innovation Workshop was attended by senior managers in bio-medicine and health care, food and natural products, information and communication technology, logistics and the electronic marketplace. The objectives of this workshop were:- Learn how to identify problems that people share and will pay for their solutions.- Devise solutions that are clever and simple; bring the right know-how to the problem.- Collaborate and finance innovation projects; protect innovations from competitors.
excited to embark on a world tour with the center,” said Pensak. “My goal is to impact people in developing countries and spur innovation and invention. I have so many experiences and ideas I would like to share with our next generation. Hopefully I can motivate them and encourage them to seek out entrepreneurial opportunities that will fuel economic development and improve the quality of life for people all over the world.” Pensak has degrees from Princeton University (A.B.) and Harvard University (A.M. and PhD) and has served as a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently is co-writing a book with Elizabeth Licorish entitled Innovation for Underdogs, due out in fall 2008.
The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE) family took Pensak in a tour around business incubators including iPark and JIC. He was very impressed and excited about the progress of the winners of QRNEC -the first and only technology business plan competition in Jordan- during the first two years. Pensak expressed his thoughts with positive and encouraging thoughts and wished QRCE more success stories. QRCE has organized this event in conjunction with the Creative & Innovative Economy Center at the George Washington University since it aims to develop technology entrepreneurship in Jordan by focusing on issues such as: capacity building, consulting, counseling and developing the local “Entrepreneurial Personality & Spirit”. Furthermore, the QRCE is running several leading national and international programs, including: Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition (QRNEC), CONNECT-Jordan program, Technology Commercialization Program (TCP), and the students entrepreneurship club (DART). QRCE is an integral part of Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT), the academic arm of El Hassan Science City (EHSC), which includes national pioneer institutions which are the Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST) and Royal Scientific Society (RSS).
