Over the past 5 years, PennTAP has engaged and empowered more than 2,095 Pennsylvania organizations through technical assistance.
2015 Impacts
Counties Served : 34
$5.2 M : Economic Benefits
Jobs Created and Saved : 114
914 : Penn State Students Engaged
Businesses Educated : 649
5 : New Businesses
Client/Attendee Satisfaction : 4.8
Advanced IT
In 2015 the PennTAP Advanced IT technical advisors assisted with for‐profit businesses and anchor institutions across the Commonwealth and reached more than 440 people with sessions on social media, mobile websites, cloud computing, and cyber security. The IT services led to many successes. Assisting a small business with a hacked website, with more than 7,000 illegitimate pages attributed to the website. Helping many small businesses obtain a better Internet connection. Placing 15 College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) interns in Pennsylvania companies and organizations, e.g., Pennsylvania State Police, Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce, PA Office of Rural Health, GreenTowers, Cryozone, MePush, and Live IT U. Students provided services, including website and database development and assisted with social media marketing, and other IT related needs.
Innovation
PennTAP’s Innovation services provide technical and operational assistance to start‐ups and small‐ and medium‐sized companies. Projects are identified and vetted via a strong statewide partnership network. In 2015, PennTAP’s Innovation Services provided assistance to 41 companies. As part of those projects, PennTAP’s clients worked with Penn State students, faculty, and staff on projects through existing innovation programs, such as Penn State College of Engineering’s Learning Factory and the Integrated Design Solutions group, the Materials Research Institute, and various business creation resources. Leveraging existing innovation assets and economic development networks to accelerate ideas to market will result in family‐sustaining jobs.
Energy and Environment
During 2015, the PennTAP Energy and Environment Team provided pollution prevention/energy efficiency (P2/E2) on‐site assessments, economy‐energy‐environment (E3) events, building re‐tuning training, education regarding the solid waste remanufacturing exclusion rule, and energy management systems ISO 50001 and Superior Energy Performance (SEP) certification training and webinars. EPA and PennTAP joined forces to develop an E3 initiative in Pennsylvania. The project helps communities and manufacturers address energy and sustainability challenges by leveraging expertise available with state and federal resources. PennTAP has conducted six E3 events in PA. The cost savings realized by these manufacturers include more than $1.7 million.
Student Engagement
PennTAP saw a year of change in 2015. We streamlined our service areas and brought focus to three pillars: Advanced IT, Energy, Environment, and Innovation. Each of these areas supported companies by providing technical assistance in the form of energy audits, website or network optimization, as well as new product development. In addition, we helped 5 student companies form in 2015! Underlying all of our efforts is the focus on students. We seek to engage students through company visits, classroom learning, providing scholarships for internships, mentoring, and guidance for business formation. In all, we engaged 728 students this past year!
This year a new director was hired, and our energy team brought on two new technical advisors who quickly became vital contributors to the efforts of the team. As we continue to strive to meet the needs of the clients we serve, as well as our Outreach home and various funders, PennTAP will remain focused on supporting businesses in every corner of the Commonwealth. We will continue to engage students in all aspects of our efforts and work to encourage business growth and job creation.
Thank you for your support and for allowing us to be a part of your success.
Testimonials
“The incredible team at PennTAP has made it possible for our company, XMP LLC, to get off the ground. Through seed funding and access to an incredible network of resources, we have been able to continuously innovate and develop our idea into a viable business. Their service and continued dedication have played a pivotal role in helping our team deliver cutting-edge solutions to advanced manufacturing challenges.” – Matt Woods – CEO/Founder of XMP LLC
“PennTAP was very professional, responsive, and able to provide me with useful information I intend to use in the future to help make our business more sustainable.” – Christopher Kampel of Kampel Enterprises
“PennTAP has given me the opportunity to be an intern with a nonprofit organization through their Student Internship Scholarship. Working with PACHC has been a great experience; I have been learning how IT and health care work together outside of the classroom. I appreciate everything PennTAP has done to supplement my education. – Shelan Farook
“We would never have been able to complete the project in the time frame that we did without the students’ assistance. Thank you, PennTAP, for providing this internship opportunity to us.” – Live IT U