University of Michigan

The University of Michigan was founded in Detroit 1817 as one of the first public universities in the country. In 1837 the school moved westward to the 13 year-old city of Ann Arbor. When the first classes were taught in 1841, Michigan had only two professors and seven students.

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

As part of that mission, Michigan holds a deep commitment to help strengthen and diversify our region’s economy in many ways, including through the movement of our inventions and technologies to the marketplace and the creation of entrepreneurial students and faculty.

The University of Michigan, through it’s Office of Technology Transfer, actively seeks partners in the business world to help bring U-M innovations to market.

Since 2001, the University of Michigan has launched 83 start-up companies, and signed over 700 licensing agreements with industry. And, the resulting products are already improving the quality of life. From the inhalable influenza vaccine FluMist, to the advanced drive-train batteries being developed by Sakti3, Michigan researches are not just studying the problems of the day, but creating real solutions.