ELUCIDATE, Upstate’s Project Communication Platform, Highlighted in Innovation-Focused Panel Discussion at Inaugural Upstate Innovation Day
In a celebration of ingenuity, the first Upstate Innovation Day was held at the CNY Biotech Accelerator, hosted by Innovate Upstate including the Upstate Medical University's Office of Industry Research and the Central New York Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC). This collaborative effort aimed to create a platform for CNY and Upstate-based startups to showcase their emerging technology, along with providing the opportunity to hear from experts across the industry landscape.
The day’s agenda encompassed crucial topics such as intellectual property (IP) management, entrepreneurial team formation, and navigating funding – fundamental pillars in driving advancements in the field.
Attendees also heard from Upstate innovators from within the Information Management & Technology (IMT) department, including Mark Zeman, chief information officer, and Mary DeGroat, Moonshot analyst & ELUCIDATE product manager, who both participated on the 'The Path and Process to Innovate in an Academic Medical Center' panel discussion.
With the topic of innovation was at the center of the panel discussion, Zeman and DeGroat shared their perspectives on building and launching ELUCIDATE (LUCI), an innovative portfolio communication platform, within Upstate. With support of various IMT departments, ELUCIDATE was collaboratively developed to simplify communication within an organization where there are hundreds of ongoing projects at any time. LUCI launched at Upstate in December 2020.
ELUCIDATE is a web-based platform that streamlines the sharing of project updates, ensuring all stakeholders have access to accurate, timely, and relevant information. Upstate’s IMT department regularly utilizes LUCI as the backbone agenda for its weekly project status meetings with IMT managers.
“LUCI offers a seamless way to capture project progress over time for both our end users and our peers within IT”, said DeGroat during the discussion. “Defining a criterion for when updates should be provided and setting the expectation of how updates should be written, has improved our writing skills and made our updates more relatable to our audience especially when simplifying complex concepts. It’s important to recognize how project updates will be consumed by project followers who may not have the same level of context or subject matter terminology as the content producer.”
“Recognizing that curated content is the engine that drives LUCI, the platform includes a skill-building module for content providers on how to create project updates that are relevant, timely and consumer-friendly. While having this skillset helps to optimize the use of the platform, it also is a framework for better workplace communication that we encourage our staff to adopt. LUCI’s design supports and encourages this communication framework,” added Zeman.
As Upstate continues to be a hub for innovation, the collaborative efforts of organizations like the CNY Biotech Accelerator, Innovate Upstate, and Upstate Medical University's Office of Industry Research play a pivotal role in shaping the future of life sciences.
Visit CNY Biotech Accelerator for more information on the services offered to clients and visit the SUNY Research Foundation to find out how they can help innovators grow ideas. To learn how Upstate is connecting with industry, visit innovateupstate.org.
