UT System and UTSA host seminar on academic entrepreneurship
(March 1, 2013) -- Academics from around the country will converge in San Antonio at the Institute of Texan Cultures on Friday, March 1 to learn how to establish and sustain university-based venture funds. The half-day seminar is hosted by the University of Texas System and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
"How to Start, Fund and Operate an In-House Academic Venture Fund" complements the Association of University Technology Managers Annual Meeting, Feb. 27-March 2 at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. The half-day seminar at the Institute of Texan Cultures will draw nearly 100 academic venture fund, incubator, intellectual property and tech-transfer professionals. Scholars, venture capitalists and other stakeholders also are expected to attend.
"The UT Horizon Fund is the strategic venture fund of the University of Texas System and an emerging national center of excellence for technology commercialization," said Bryan Allinson. "We are excited to work with UT San Antonio to help advise universities all across the United States covering excellence in academic ventures, incubators and faculty and student relations."
The seminar will begin with lunch and a keynote address focused on academia's financial state. Diana Hoadley, managing director and head of the J. P. Morgan Securities Higher Education/Nonprofit Group, and Laura Powell, executive director at J. P. Morgan Securities, will deliver the keynote address.
Participants then will attend three consecutive panel discussions. The first panel discussion, presented by the UT System and UT System Horizon Fund, will address how to start, fund and operate an academic venture fund. Panelists will discuss how universities are increasingly including start-up companies as part of their technology commercialization strategy and how some progressive universities are forming or partnering with strategic venture funds. The panel also will explore successful models of academic venture funds.
The second panel, presented by the Austin Technology Incubator at UT Austin, will discuss how to start, fund and operate a university or community incubator. The success of university-based life sciences startup companies can be directly correlated to access to incubation services, which are numerous and vary by university and local entrepreneurial community. Panelists will explore successful incubation models to support early life sciences companies.
The final panel, presented by UTSA, will address the roles of faculty, student and administration in commercialization funds and incubators. Universities accelerating technology innovation and commercialization are tackling the issues surrounding faculty involvement in the process. Traditionalists view faculty researchers as precursors to the process, while transformative universities are viewing the commercialization activities as integral to faculty tenure and promotion. Panelists will address the issue and provide best practices.
"San Antonio has created a robust ecosystem to support biomedical and technology entrepreneurs, and UTSA is a significant part of that ecosystem," said Cory Hallam, director of the UTSA Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship. "It is our hope to share our best practices and engage in a dialogue with the members of the Association of University Technology Managers so we might all succeed in supporting commercialization activities at our respective institutions and companies."
"How to Start, Fund and Operate an In-House Academic Venture Fund" will be presented 11:45 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Friday, March 1 at the Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd., San Antonio, Texas, 78205. The program is sponsored by J. P. Morgan, University of Texas System, UT Horizon Fund, UTSA, UTSA Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship, UT Health Science Center San Antonio and South Texas Technology Management.
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About the University of Texas System
Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking research and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, the University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States with nine academic universities, six health institutions and a fall 2012 enrollment of roughly 216,000. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates nearly three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $13.9 billion (FY 2013) including $3.1 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With more than 87,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution of access and excellence, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment. UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in more than 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy and Sciences as well as University College, the Honors College and the Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond.
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Agenda
11:45 a.m. -- Registration
12:15 p.m. -- Lunch
12:45 p.m. -- Welcome and Opening Remarks
- Bryan Allinson, UT System/UT Horizon Fund
- Cory Hallam, UTSA
- Arjun Sanga, UT Health Science Center San Antonio/South Texas Technology Management
12:50 p.m. -- Keynote Address: Financial State of the Union for Academia
- Diana Hoadley and Laura Powell, JP Morgan Securities LLC
1:35 p.m. -- Panel 1: How to Start, Fund and Operate an Academic Venture Fund
- Arjun Sanga (moderator)
- Bryan Allinson, UT System/UT Horizon Fund
- John Banta, Illinois Ventures
- Bruce Barshop, Barshop Ventures
- Robert Creeden, Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network
2:50 p.m. -- Panel 2: How to Start, Fund and Operate a University or Community Incubator
- Cindy WalkerPeach, Austin Technology Incubator/UT Austin (moderator)
- Isaac Barchas, Austin Technology Incubator/UT Austin
- Tim Bour, Innovation Center of the Rockies
- Patti Breedlove, Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator/University of Florida
- Stephen Frayser, STAR Park/Texas State University
4 p.m. -- Panel 3: Commercialization, Funds and Incubators: the Faculty, Student and Administration Perspective
- Cory Hallam, UTSA (moderator)
- Mauli Agrawal, UTSA
- Joseph Salamone, Rochal Industries
- Daniel Mendez, Invictus Medical
- Tom Muir, Venture Development Center, UT Dallas
5 p.m. -- Closing Remarks
- Bryan Allinson, UT System/UT Horizon Fund
- Cory Hallam, UTSA
Events
This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.