Building a Pipeline for Innovation

FAU was recently named a finalist by the University Economic Development Association (UEDA) for the creation of their entrepreneurial ecosystem.

As a finalist, FAU representatives will present at UEDA’s national summit in Georgia, sharing the story of how FAU built a pipeline of programs that move innovation into businesses.

Here’s a look at FAU’s roadmap for that success:

• The FAU Wave - a competition for students to earn seed money to sprout their business concept
• College of Business’ Adams Center for Entrepreneurship – a continued entrepreneurship push, further nurturing ideas into venture opportunities
• FAU Tech Runway – a start-up incubator program with multiple resources including angel investors and mentoring
• Florida Small Business Development Center at FAU – professional and business consulting services and resources
• Global Ventures at FAU – further scaling technology companies for worldwide growth

FAU and other finalists of UEDA’s nationwide Awards of Excellence competition were selected through a competitive process based on replicability, scalability, originality, impact and sustainability. This year’s number of submissions marks the largest group of applicants, according to Tim Hindes, executive director of UEDA.

FAU’s presentation at the UEDA Summit showcases the expansion of the university’s mission to include research, technology development, creative activity and scholarship, ultimately driving ideas and innovation into fruition.

“This national recognition as a leading university in economic development, opens the door to more partnerships, which provides additional opportunities and resources for entrepreneurs,” said Regina Thompson, strategic and economic initiatives manager in FAU’s Division of Research. “We look forward to collaborating further with other institutions and building on top of our beautiful pipeline of resources for FAU faculty, staff, students and local community,” she said. “Our economic ecosystem team is honored and proud to represent FAU as an innovative and talented university.”

To learn more about the summit, click here.