The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group (EIG) at ASU has been recognized with the Most Promising Technology Based Economic Development (TBED) Initiative award presented at this year’s State Science and Technology Institute Excellence (SSTI) in TBED Award ceremony at their 17th annual conference in Portland, OR. SSTI is a national nonprofit organization whose efforts are focused on improving regional and state economies through science, technology and innovation.
“Obviously I am very proud that the efforts of the EIG team have been honored with this award, and we share this with our many partners through Furnace, the Alexandria Coworking Network and the pracademic faculty in our Rapid Startup School classes. I strongly believe that the university should play a key role in economic development in its region, and this award confirms that ASU is a leader in doing just that,” said Gordon McConnell, assistant vice president for entrepreneurship and innovation at ASU.
The E&I Group, launched in October 2010 as ASU Venture Catalyst, is a unit created as a joint initiative between the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development and Arizona Technology Enterprises, to accelerate high-potential startup companies. The group also helps innovators, inventors, and entrepreneurs launch their for-profit, nonprofit and more-than-profit ventures. Over the past three years, the unit has grown to encompass not just startup acceleration but a broad range of entrepreneurship-related activities across the university, the metro area and the state.
Among those innovative programs recognized within this award include the Furnace Technology Transfer Accelerator, the Alexandria Co-Working Network and ASU’s Rapid Startup School.
- The Arizona Furnace Technology Transfer Accelerator is a startup accelerator designed to form, incubate and launch new companies created from technologies and intellectual property licensed from premier research institutions. It provides seed funding, office space and access to top industry mentors in order to commercialize discoveries made in university research labs. Read more coverage of Furnace and their Ventures at AZTB here.
- The Alexandria Co-working Network brings people together in collaboration spaces in public libraries across Arizona, creating a statewide network of places for people to connect, collaborate and find valuable resources. The collaboration spaces, which are free and open to the public during normal library hours, provide access to co-working space as well as resources that people can use to move their ideas forward. AZTB first reported about Alexandria Co-working Network here.
- Rapid Startup School is a set of pracademic (practitioner-taught) course offerings that offer the opportunity for participants to develop an entrepreneurial mindset while learning “hands on” the fundamentals of launching a new venture.
Read more about the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group here. Startups still have time to apply to the Furnace program-click here.