JANUARY 27, 2021 — There’s no shortage of innovative and entrepreneurial students at UTSA. For years UTSA students have pitched their startup ideas at business plan competitions, participated in tech showcases and attended entrepreneurship boot camps, receiving support primarily through the university’s Center for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Beginning today, creative Roadrunners will be able to tap into a new network that will provide additional experiential learning opportunities to improve their career readiness.
The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has expanded its signature Blackstone LaunchPad student entrepreneurship programming from two to eight campuses in The University of Texas System, as reported on the Blackstone LaunchPad blog, bringing the initiative’s network and resources to a more diverse set of students.
The $5 million expansion will give even more students critical access to resources, opportunities and mentorship at the following campuses: UT El Paso, UT Permian Basin, UT Rio Grande Valley, UTSA, UT Medical Branch and UT Southwestern. UT Austin and UT Dallas have been LaunchPad sites since 2016. With four of the six campuses included in this expansion designated Hispanic Serving Institutions, LaunchPad doubles the number of HSIs in its network, demonstrating a commitment to increasing inclusion in student entrepreneurship.
“Expanding LaunchPad to more UT institutions helps develop a more robust pipeline of student entrepreneurs in Texas. This experience will encourage them to generate new ideas and some day launch companies and drive job growth,” UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken said. “We are grateful to the Blackstone Charitable Foundation for its generous contribution and for its effort to reach a more diverse student population across Texas.”
UT System students will be able to expand their ideas outside of the classroom by utilizing LaunchPad’s events, mentorships and an exceptional network to help them succeed in their entrepreneurial ventures. At UT Austin and UT Dallas, LaunchPad has been available to more than 60,000 students with more than 14,000 engaged in programming annually.
“We are incredibly excited to help student entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition,” said Amy Stursberg, executive director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. “LaunchPad provides an invaluable experience by helping students acquire entrepreneurial skills that will help them contribute to Texas’ economic growth and prepare them for today’s workforce.”
The Blackstone Charitable Foundation established LaunchPad in 2008 and partnered with Techstars eight years later to provide participants with access to its network of more than 10,000 mentors, invitations to signature events like Startup Week and Startup Weekend, and access to world-renowned content and startup services. With Future Founders, Blackstone LaunchPad provides a seasonal eight-week fellowship, during which student founders receive $5,000 in nondilutive grant funding to support their time working on advancing their ventures as well as access to workshops and adviser networks. Startup Grind also serves as an event partner and offers new student membership for LaunchPad participants.
Blackstone LaunchPad also helps student entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of fundraising, job placement and recruitment. LaunchPad has achieved success across 24 campuses in the U.S. and Ireland, providing nearly 750,000 students with the access to resources, personal connections and professional networks they need to get their companies off the ground.
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Professor Swisher is Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on risk factors in adolescence and the transition to adulthood (e.g., neighborhood poverty, exposure to violence, parental incarceration) and their consequences for health and well-being across the life course. Recent work has focused on educational mobility and, in particular, challenges faced by first generation college students.
Virtual EventJoin UTSA for a virtual screening of “Hap Veltman’s San Antonio Country” with the filmmaker Noi Mahoney. See the story of the extraordinary life of Hap Veltman and the nightclub that kick-started San Antonio’s gay civil rights movement. Professor Derek Robertson will lead a discussion with the filmmaker, followed by audience Q&A. Free and open to the UTSA and entire San Antonio community.
Virtual EventJoin us this summer as we showcase innovative and interesting topics from each institution of the UT System. Register and Join
Virtual EventSecure your vaccine ahead of time by registering for an appointment. Walk-in appointments will also be available while supplies last. The vaccines available are the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen.
Denman Ballroom (SU 2.01.28)San Antonio Pride Parade featuring make-up tutorials, Peace Love Pride Wedding, special guests. More details to come.
Virtual EventUTSA Campus Recreation will be doing a giveaway in celebration of Pride Month. The first 51 patrons to come to the Rec will win a free t-shirt!
Campus Rec, Main CampusSecure your vaccine ahead of time by registering for an appointment. Walk-in appointments will also be available while supplies last. The vaccines available are the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen.
Denman Ballroom (SU 2.01.28The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
