Global Sustainability Leadership Institute (GSLI)
The Global Sustainability Leadership Institute (GSLI), housed in The McCombs School of Business and The Moody College of Communication, supports students across campus interested in sustainability. The GSLI focuses on four core pillars: corporate sustainability, impact entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainability communications, and sustainable finance. Through courses, hands-on learning programs, competitions, and research, the GSLI inspires our future leaders to create economic value for their organizations while also creating positive social and environmental impact. Popular programs include: Longhorn Impact Fellowship at Texas (LIFT), Texas Sustainability Innovation Challenge, MBA Impact Investing Network and Training Program (MIINT), Social Impact Internship Fund (SIIF), and Impact Chats.
Email: GSLI@mccombs.utexas.edu
Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
The Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies is the corner of Main and Main for undergraduate entrepreneurs at the University of Texas. We support interdisciplinary education and extracurricular experiences building students’ belief in their capacity to attain their goals and accelerate student business development.
Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center (HKEC)
The Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center (HKEC) promotes the development of entrepreneurial skills and supports exploration of the ways these skills can be applied to careers as founders or innovators within established firms. This is done by encouraging the discovery of university-wide entrepreneurship and startup resources, educating students through an innovative curriculum and mentoring by entrepreneurial leaders, engaging students with a community of Longhorn leaders that embody the entrepreneurial mindset, and empowering students by providing a space for students to initiate real-world experience in a low-risk environment. HKEC supports both graduate and undergraduate students in any major at The University of Texas at Austin.
Email: hkec@utexas.edu
Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI)
The Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute aims to empower & equip the next generation of female leaders & entrepreneurs through community, diversity, & inclusivity. KS WELI provides various opportunities for the UT Community, including sponsoring interdisciplinary courses, spotlighting female-owned startups through the Featured Female Founders program, & hosting programs and events such as EmpowHER Hours & the annual Women’s Summit & Pitch Competition. It is truly an institute by students for students.
Email: robinson@austin.utexas.edu
MS in Technology Commercialization (MSTC)
The university’s Master of Science in Technology Commercialization is a one-year master’s program from the McCombs School focused on the intersection of business, technology, and innovation. Meeting on alternating weekends on campus and online, Texas MSTC students learn the business skills to profitably launch new innovative technology products into the marketplace, either within a corporation or a venture of their own, all without career interruption.
The program is taught by top-ranked McCombs faculty, and focuses on experiential learning designed to teach the skill-set needed to compete in a global economy. Launched in 1996 out of the IC2 Institute, it combines cutting-edge technology, hands-on entrepreneurship and world-class education, resulting in the creation of innovative ventures and products.
Email: mstc@mccombs.utexas.edu
Venture Fellows
Venture Fellows was founded in 1999 to provide McCombs School of Business MBA students with the opportunity to work with venture capital and private equity funds through internships during two semesters as a part of their curriculum. Sixteen to 18 students participate in this program each year. Venture Fellows is managed by McCombs MBA students and Department of Finance faculty associated with the Hicks Muse Tate and First Center for Finance. In addition to the internships, the Venture Fellows program includes a two semester, weekly, in-class academic component with a curriculum that focuses on entrepreneurship, venture capital investing, corporate restructuring and reorganization and private equity investing. About 25 percent of the students who have participated in the Venture Fellows program are active in the venture capital or private equity industries today.
Tasked by the Graduate Student Assembly, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Agency serves as a conduit to startup collaboration, resources and education. Our chief aim is to centralize and simplify Austin’s dynamic entrepreneurial scene by:
- Providing resources that empower action and encourage collaboration.
- Facilitating access to relevant opportunities and mentors.
- Advertising success stories and entrepreneurial career pathways.
- Networking across campus and with Austin’s startup community.
- Advocating on behalf of student entrepreneurs to policy makers.
The Graduate Entrepreneurship & Innovation Club is an organization that brings together MBA students with a common interest in entrepreneurship. Counting 30% of the full-time MBA students as dues-paying members, The Club is one of McCombs’ largest student organizations. It is also among the most active.
Cockrell School of Engineering
Center for Electromechanics (CEM)
The University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics researches the design, build and test of first-of-a-kind prototypes to be applied in advanced electromechanical systems for continuous and intermittent duty applications, with extensive experience in motors and actuators.
Email: ceminfo@cem.utexas.edu
Texas Innovation Center (TXIC)
The University of Texas at Austin Texas Innovation Center (TXIC) provides commercialization support through events and programming, a dedicated coworking space, a wet lab incubator, networking connections with UT alumni and friends, and many other resources for the Longhorn community. While the center’s primary focus is STEM faculty and graduate students, we welcome collaboration with other areas of campus and opportunities to work synergistically with the Cockrell School of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences.
Email: innovation@utexas.edu
Texas InventionWorks (TIW)
Texas InventionWorks (TIW) is a program that includes state of the art facilities to prototype physical and electronic parts, components and complete devices; education in design, fabrication and innovation; and support for invention and innovation, including developing courses.
Email: ferraro@me.utexas.edu
College of Fine Arts (COFA)
Center for Creative Entrepreneurship (CCE)
The COFA Center for Creative Entrepreneurship, newly housed in the Kendra Scott Student Center, helps empower students with the mindset, skillset and the practice necessary to transform passions into sustainable businesses or careers. Programming is open to all students.
Center for Integrated Design (CID)
CID is a campus-wide initiative within the School of Design and Creative Technologies to integrate design thinking into university curriculum. CID offers multidisciplinary classes, certificates or degrees with faculty in fine arts, business, engineering, architecture and computer science. This curriculum empowers students across disciplines to learn creative, problem-solving skill sets and embrace opportunities where arts and business converge.
Email: cid@austin.utexas.edu
The Foundry
The Foundry is a makerspace open to all UT students, faculty, and staff to create a venue for the generation of new ideas, research, art and inventions. The Foundry offers 3-D modeling and printing resources; an audio/video production and editing studio; an interactive game and mobile applications studio; a studio for microelectronics and animatronics; and a high-tech music production studio. The Foundry is located on the third floor of the Fine Arts Library in Doty Fine Arts Building.
College of Natural Sciences (CNS)
University of Texas Nutrition Institute (UTNI)
UTNI is a new nutrition platform for UT Austin to harness the creative energy and expertise of its students to deliver evidence-backed, consumer-focused nutrition innovation. UTNI is using the science of nutrition to improve healthcare services, inspire the creation of health-promoting products and services, and provide nutrition education to the masses. UT Austin has a wealth of knowledge in nutritional science, and the UT Nutrition Institute wants to engage the community in a conversation about how what we eat can revolutionize personal and public health. UTNI is powered by a partnership between the McCombs School of Business, The College of Natural Sciences, and the Nutritional Sciences department.
Through that partnership, UTNI sponsors an independent study course focused on multimedia content production (NTR 352), a food and beverage incubator course within the entrepreneurship minor, and career development opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs and social innovators in the better-for-you food and beverage space.
College of Pharmacy
The Drug Dynamics Institute (DDI)
The Drug Dynamics Institute is a collaborative center, bringing together extensive scientific expertise and experience across industry, academia and global partners. The development of pharmaceutical and medical technologies is a rigorous and highly specialized process. The Drug Dynamics Institute has created a variety of ways to help industry, start-ups, and academic researchers move ideas from the lab to human clinical trials on the path to commercialization via preclinical evaluation and development (TherapeUTex), experiential innovation preparation (UT Advance), and wet lab incubator facilities (UTech Dorm Room)
Dell Medical School
The Impact Factory
The Impact Factory, a joint initiative between Dell Med and the LBJ School of Public Affairs, provides various opportunities for the UT Community, including offering courses in social entrepreneurship and innovation, a Distinction in Social Entrepreneurship for Dell Med students, and incubating and accelerating social impact organizations.
Email: theimpactfactory@austin.utexas.edu
Texas Health Catalyst
Texas Texas Health Catalyst leads Dell Medical School’s product innovation and commercialization efforts. Researchers and entrepreneurs can receive customized guidance on product development from industry and clinical experts as well as milestone-based seed funding and industry partnership opportunities. The program supports all health care sectors including therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices and digital health products. Texas Health Catalyst welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on campus with faculty, students and staff that are interested in health product innovation and entrepreneurship.
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Portfolio in Arts and Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship
The Portfolio in Arts and Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship is a certification program that provides students with cross-disciplinary theoretical and practical training related to the management and governance of arts and cultural organizations, and/or the business dimensions of an entrepreneurial artistic career. Further goals are to promote greater interaction among students, faculty, and others working in areas related to these fields; provide increased visibility and offerings in the field on campus; and promote interaction with Austin’s cultural community. The portfolio is jointly sponsored by the College of Fine Arts and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and engages faculty from across the university.
Email: artsportfolio@austin.utexas.edu
RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service (RGK)
The mission of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service is to prepare leaders for the exciting and complex work of creating social impact. Through graduate education and faculty research, the RGK Center builds skills, generates new knowledge and collaborates with nonprofit organizations to inform policymakers and practitioners who have a passion for caring and resilient communities. The RGK Center’s Nonprofit Studies portfolio program is open to all graduate students on campus and offers courses in nonprofit management, data analytics and management, entrepreneurship and leadership.
Email: sydney.wilburn@austin.utexas.edu
Moody College of Communication
Dallas Morning News Innovation Endowment
The Dallas Morning News Innovation Endowment works toward innovating journalism with students. This means creating podcasts, building bots and planning community events. These projects give students the work experience they both want and need to develop stellar careers.
Technology & Information Policy Institute (TIPI)
The Technology & Information Policy Institute (TIPI) provides research opportunities for students who want to explore how technology influences our world. The Institute fosters awareness around issues like digital inequality, artificial intelligence, new forms of information and misinformation, and how we use information at important moments such as during disasters. We hope that by scraping below the surface that we can use research to cultivate a better world. Together, we bring research to life by focusing on real-world issues and policies that shape our society.
Texas Immersive Institute (TXI)
Texas Immersive Institute (TXI) mission to be a leading voice in the future of communication and media, through creative applications and research projects, using a mixed-methods approach, to combine traditional communication methods and emerging technology tools. TXI’s applied research projects ensure deeper understanding and practices shared at the intersection of culture and commerce, enabling consumers to engage through a blend of physical, digital, and voice environments with ease.
Texas Moody Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative
The Moody College of Communication established this initiative to promote the college’s faculty, programs, and centers focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, offer guidance on the future of media, provide mentorship, resources and networking opportunities to students interested in media entrepreneurship and bridge Moody College’s efforts to the University of Texas and across Austin. Our mission is to develop next-generation visionaries who see the world through a different lens, who find solutions to big problems, who embrace diverse means of communication to ensure the “new” is both responsive, responsible and remarkable.
Office of The President
Center for Sports Leadership & Innovation
Launched on Dec. 15, 2014, the Center for Sports Leadership & Innovation represents the university’s commitment to live up to its core purpose: to transform lives for the benefit of society. The mission of CSLi is to cultivate character development, leadership skills and long-term welfare of UT student-athletes.
Contact: daronroberts@utexas.edu or taylorbrown@utexas.edu
Texas Global
Global Programs and Innovation (GPI)
Global Programs and Innovation (GPI) is a unit within Texas Global, and that works with governments, universities, and industry to train emerging leaders, professionals, and entrepreneurs both on-site at UT and at locations around the globe. GPI leads and administers innovative projects that have gained recognition in the U.S. and around the world.
IC² Institute
The IC² Institute is a “think and do” tank that explores how innovation, creativity and capital catalyze regional economic development in Austin, across the U.S., and in 40 countries. The Institute has successfully facilitated translation of science and technology to innovative companies to grow regional economies. Today, Institute programs focus on promoting well-being and shared prosperity through new enterprise start and growth. IC2 supports innovative research led by UT Austin faculty and engages UT students in hands-on research through community engagement, competitions, capstone projects and other programs. The IC2 Institute continues to link cutting edge knowledge with practical programs to produce well-being and economic impact through creation of inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Email: info@ic2.utexas.edu
President’s Award for Global Learning
The President’s Award for Global Learning empowers students and faculty to examine real-world interdisciplinary topics while incorporating in-country learning into the classroom experience. Faculty teams from various disciplines will propose to address a global challenge in collaboration with an international partner. Cohorts of students will propose projects that fit within the topics of the faculty team’s awarded proposals. Award-winning teams receive $5,000 each in program funds and fully funded travel for two trips with a maximum of four weeks abroad. Previous award winners include a team that created an augmented reality app to promote skin cancer prevention in Singapore and a team that researched how waste materials in the Galapagos can be used to create a circular economy.
Office of The Vice President for Legal Affairs and Business Strategy Discovery to Impact Units
Austin Technology Incubator (ATI)
The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) is the “deep tech” incubator of The University of Texas at Austin. For over 30 years, ATI has used a customized approach to support university and community entrepreneurs addressing the world’s most pressing problems. From 1989 to date, ATI has graduated over 300 member companies, contributed over $3B economic impact to Central Texas, laid the groundwork for 10 IPOs and over 50 mergers & acquisitions, and helped raise over $2B for ATI member companies.ATI also has a long-standing commitment to developing student talent at the university. ATI Associates are highly motivated UT Austin students who engage in exciting professional experiences working with the early stage, rapidly growing companies in our deep tech portfolio. Graduate and undergraduate students from all majors may apply.
Email: info@ati.utexas.edu
Southwest NSF Innovation Corps (SWICORPS)
The Southwest I-Corps Node (SWICORPS) advances the U.S. national innovation ecosystem as a part of the National Science Foundation I-Corps program. Through national and regional I-Corps programming, we support young scientists, leading faculty and the greater business community across the Texas and Southwest region in testing their funded research for potential commercial applications. Completion of a regional program offers teams an opportunity to apply for a national NSF program grant of $50,000. Innovations must be deep technology based on science and engineering research.
Email: abusch@ati.utexas.edu
Texas Global Health Security Innovation Consortium (TEXGHS)
The Texas Global Health Security Innovation Consortium (TEXGHS) connects academic, public- and private-sector partners to support companies working towards pandemic preparedness and response in Texas. TEXGHS is developing a health security innovation ecosystem that supports innovators and innovations fighting COVID-19 and future pandemics. UT Austin entrepreneurs should contact TEXGHS when they are seeking to commercialize infectious disease-related innovations at any stage of development.
Email: info@texghs.org
Texas Venture Mentoring Service (TEXVMS)
Texas Venture Mentoring Service (TEXVMS) has assembled over 100 expert mentors to support startups in the many entrepreneurship programs at UT Austin. TEXVMS’s intensive team mentoring methodology surrounds startups with diverse expertise tailored to each company’s unique needs. Mentors provide practical, actionable advice with a focus on developing the entrepreneur. Startups with any UT Austin connection may apply: university IP, faculty/student founder, or participation in another UT entrepreneurship program.
Email: texvms@ati.utexas.edu
Commercialization and Corporate Sponsored Research
The Discovery to Impact team oversees the university’s technology transfer and corporate-sponsored research functions and two startup incubators. We build and nurture relationships with campus creators and inventors as well as corporations, investors and entrepreneurs to get research out of the labs and studios and into the world where it can be put to the greatest use.
Email: commercialization@austin.utexas.edu
Texas Innovation Center (TXIC)
The University of Texas at Austin Texas Innovation Center (TXIC) provides commercialization support through events and programming, a dedicated coworking space, a wet lab incubator, networking connections with UT alumni and friends, and many other resources for the Longhorn community. While the center’s primary focus is STEM faculty and graduate students, we welcome collaboration with other areas of campus and opportunities to work synergistically with the Cockrell School of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences.
Email: innovation@utexas.edu
School of Law
Texas Law Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic
The Texas Law Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic offers free legal assistance to Austin area nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurs and small businesses. Our services are best suited to clients who have clear ideas about their goals and plans for their business venture or nonprofit. We make client selection decisions based on client eligibility, staffing availability and alignment with our law clinic teaching goals and the clinic setting. To qualify for our services, for-profit startups must be unable to afford outside legal assistance and have not received a significant round of outside funding or financing from investors. Non-profit startups must offer at least one program with a focus of serving low-income populations. Interested startups should submit the online application.
Email: ecdc@law.utexas.edu
School of Undergraduate Studies
The LaunchPad at UT Austin
The LaunchPad at UT Austin is an entrepreneurship hub that helps undergraduate and graduate students of all majors explore and navigate entrepreneurship on the 40 Acres. We help students along their entire entrepreneurial journey – Explore, Ideate, Create, and Scale. The LaunchPads offer physical coworking space (FAC 101D), open door mentorship, resource navigation, and experiential learning through our 5 Signature Programs: Entrepreneurial Mindset Bootcamp, StartUP Grants ($500-$5K), Gap Year Founder’s (paid 9-month program for alumni), Bridge Venture Fellowship (paid opportunity to learn about venture capital), and our SEAL summer accelerator. The LaunchPad at UT Austin is a proud member of the Blackstone LaunchPad Network of 46+ universities across the U.S. and Ireland.
Email: nina.q.ho@utexas.edu