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Grab A Bunk In The Dot-Com Dorm

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the are-the-amenities-enough dept.

airrage writes "According to this Washington Post article, the University of Maryland has created "dot com" like dorms complete will all the necessary executive perks: wood desks, leather chairs, wireless, whiteboards; all to encourage entrepreneurship. Apparently, it's working too. Twenty of the students have created their own start-up firms, and six are already generating revenue."

4 of 298 comments (clear)

  1. Uh, better read the fine print... by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...if I recall correctly there was language in all the paperwork I signed when I went to school that said something to the effect of 'everything you do while you're attending college belongs to the college'.

    Does anyone know of any possible consequenses to this type of arrangement, or if that sort of agreement is even enforcable?

  2. It sounds rather forced... by Jedi+Paramedic · · Score: 5, Interesting
    "The thing about the Hinman program is that it's faculty-sponsored, it's not student-driven. It's really quite remarkable to say, 'We're not only going to teach classes, but we're going to get these kids to live together,' and it's often over those late-night pizzas where the best ideas are born."
    I dunno... It's a great idea to foster entrepreneurship and group work, but can it really work when the school seems to be throwing a bunch of self-selected eligible potential e-tycoons in a really nice dorm?

    On the other hand, maybe they're just playing the odds that if they throw 100 people together and provide the infrastructure and cell phones, one of them is bound to come up with enough of a marketable idea to make a bajillion dollars.
    --

    That's my purse! I don't know you! -- Bobby Hill
  3. Ownership Dispute by ticklemeozmo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What about the ownership of the individual business models or products?

    At my university, all products and ideas developed on university owned equipment is property of the university. Is that to say that since the whiteboards and other "idea-inducing" workspaces and utilities are functionally provided by the university, and on university property, should they belong to the university?

    Should they and will they are obviously two different questions...

    --
    When modding "Informative", please make sure it both has a source and IS actually informative.
  4. As realistic as the Onion... by Sigma+Kiwi · · Score: 5, Interesting
    As a University of Maryland Student who lives in these dorms, allow me to point out reality (caveat: I live in building 1. Hinman CEOs is housed in building 2). Yes, the apartments are fully furnished -- but you pay through the nose. The average apartment pays over $2200/month in rent for relatively small living space. Technically, you could call the desks "wood" -- but they are cheap and uncomfortable. If a student has a leather chair, it is because the student provided his own. The provided chairs are little more than burlap over hard metal. I've heard rumors that they will install wireless, but I can't confirm that it is active yet (the coverage map for campus' wireless doesn't have South Campus Commons listed. I know others who have run their own APs in commons, though.

    Other privileges of living in South Campus Commons include monthy inspections by the RAs (yes, you do pay money to a private company to live under Resident Life rules -- even though we are technically "off campus" housing). It's not uncommon for the hot water to go out for days at a time, frequently with no notice.

    And the kicker? The lease that I signed forbade running a business from my room. In other words, unless they modified the lease for these Hinman CEOs, they're all in violation.

    We *definitely* do not live in spaces that would ever be confused with executive furnishings.