ASU Venture Catalyst named one of the top business incubators in the world
The University Business Incubator Index (UBI) for 2013 indicated that Arizona State University Venture Catalyst was named one of the top university business incubators in the world; it was ranked 18th on their list of the Top 25 Global University Incubators and 10th on their Top 10 list for the United States.
According to ASU’s press release, “the UBI index reviewed 550 university incubators around the world and performed a study of 150 university business incubators in 22 countries. The analysis of this assessment framework shows the value participating incubators create for their ecosystem and their clients.”
“It is heartening to see that the huge level of innovation, entrepreneurship and spinout activities at ASU has been quantified on the global stage,” said Gordon McConnell, Assistant Vice-President of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at ASU.
Just in 2013, ASU Venture Catalyst has hosted the Arizona Student Demo Day where 12 student-led startups from Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona pitched their companies to a panel of judges and competed for $30,000 in funding. One grand-prize winner selected from the top three teams received the inaugural Arizona Startup Territorial Cup and an additional $3,000 in prize money.
“We did our first ASU student demo day last year which was a huge success, but we wanted to make it a showcase for the best student startups from across the state this year,” said McConnell. Read more about Arizona Student Demo Day here.
They also hosted the inaugural ASU Furnace Demo Day where startup companies with a wide-range of products-from biotech and software to theft-reducing technologies competed for funding and resources.
Furnace is a first-of-its-kind startup accelerator designed to form, incubate and launch new companies created from technologies and intellectual property licensed out of Arizona’s premier research institutions. It is a public-private partnership among the Arizona Commerce Authority, BioAccel and the technology transfer offices of Arizona State University, Dignity Health Arizona, Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona. Read more about ASU Furnace Demo Day here. Learn more about ASU Venture Catalyst here.
Wildcat fans benefit from the website facelift
University of Arizona Athletics, in partnership with NeuLion, announced the re-launch of ArizonaWildcats.com and creation of the Pac-12’s integrated digital network; their goal is to increase engagement with Wildcat fans via mobile, social networks and video. The new website will enable fans to watch UA highlights and access live events with fewer clicks. According to the UA press release, the new site “features a video centric main article rotator, live streaming of events and fans who receive Pac-12 networks through their cable or satellite provider can access all seven networks via ‘TV Everywhere’ authentication through Pac-12.com directly. In order to be more mobile friendly, the new [site] will feature ‘Responsive Design,’ allowing automatic detection of screen size that adjusts to desktop or [mobile devices].” Visit ArizonaWildcats.com to see it live.
ASU Alexandria expands to two more communities
On May 2, 2013, the ASU Alexandria Co-working Network opened in Scottsdale, at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library, a new initiative that brings together inventors, problem-solvers, entrepreneurs and small businesses in collaboration spaces in community libraries across Arizona. The “Eureka Loft” at the Scottsdale library is the first of five spaces opening around Arizona in 2013. Recently ASU announced two more co-working spaces to open in Goodyear and Mesa this fall.
According to the ASU press release, “ASU also is currently in discussions with the City of Phoenix to bring the Alexandria Co-working Network to the Burton Barr Central Library in downtown Phoenix, but staff will ultimately need to bring an agreement to the Phoenix City Council for consideration. In addition, the Tempe Public Library is in discussions with ASU about joining the network.”
Learn more about Alexandria co-working spaces here.
