UTSA National Security Collaboration Center director Guy Walsh, kicked off the event as an opening speaker.
MAY 26, 2022 — Staff members from the UTSA Institute for Economic Development and researchers from across UTSA recently brought their expertise to a first-of-its-kind conference and convention that is bringing together academia, researchers, the defense community and an array of startups in a joint effort to better deliver the latest technologies and talent development to America’s service members.
FORCECON 2022 encompasses a week of activities at Port San Antonio’s new Tech Port Center + Arena. This year’s inaugural event is a collaboration between the UTSA Center for Government Contracting (CGC), the Port, ASM Global, startup accelerator Capital Factory, the Air Force's Air Education and Training Command (AETC), the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC), Air Force Gaming, Space Force Gaming, the Air Force's internal innovation accelerator AFWERX and esports firm Rally Cry.
UTSA’s key contributions to the collaborative event took place earlier this week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 24 and 25.
Known as a collider, this portion of FORCECON included discussions and presentations by an array of subject matter experts to an audience comprised of several members of the defense community and several startups that are developing new technologies that could greatly benefit the U.S. military.
UTSA’s two booths featured its Department of Computer Science, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the School of Data Science, Office of Technology Commercialization, SBDC Technology Commercialization Center, and the National Security Collaboration Center.
Concurrently, the CGC, a specialty center of the IED’s Texas South-West Small Business Development Center, provided resources to participants interested in supplying Department of Defense agencies that support the U.S. military services’ mission around the world.
The collider also included an Air Force pitch competition. Presenters showcased their innovative ideas for improving military training, with the top ideas receiving funding for further development.
“For 42 years, the UTSA Institute for Economic Development has helped over 5,000 businesses open their doors and created more than 58,000 jobs in the Texas economy,” said Rod McSherry, UTSA associate vice president for Innovation and Economic Development. “When strong partners such as UTSA, the U.S. military and Port San Antonio collaborate and innovate together, the inevitable collisions that take place position academia, industry and the military to collaboratively develop beneficial solutions to advance our community, state and country.”
Will Garrett, Port San Antonio’s vice president of Talent and Technology Development and Integration, added, “We are proud of our strong and ever-growing partnership with UTSA. The strategic business support and the technical expertise that top-tier UTSA faculty contributed during FORCECON made this an impactful event for participants—especially startups. It underscored San Antonio’s spirit of collaboration in our shared efforts to support and build a 21st century defense community.”
UTSA National Security Collaboration Center director Guy Walsh, a retired Air Force Brigadier General, kicked off the conference as the opening speaker, followed by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Several UTSA faculty and staff members participated in panel discussions and served as technology-judges for the pitch competition.
The remaining portion of FORCECON 2022 includes a concert on May 26 and an esports competition on May 28 and 29, featuring the first-ever matchup between teams from all branches of the U.S. armed forces. Admission to the latter is free of charge and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
UTSA is a Tier One research university and a Hispanic Serving Institution that advances knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Community input is central to developing a well-conceived roadmap for the next 50 years of the ITC. To date, the visioning process has included opportunities for public input and ideation through two rounds of Community Conversations that sought input from a wide variety of ITC stakeholders.
Virtual EventPlease join us Thursday, July 7th, 2022 for a discussion with Colonel (ret) Michael Davis, MD, FACS, FRCS (Hon), former Director of the U.S. Combat Casualty Care Research Program. Dr. Davis will discuss how to best identify strengths at UTSA that can be effectively leveraged for funding proposals to the Department of Defense.
Business Building (BB `2.06.04,) Main CampusEducators will develop strategies that can be implemented to stimulate, guide, and build capacity of diverse student populations.
UTSA Downtown CampusParticipants will be introduced to applications included in Adobe Creative Cloud, a tool that is free for all UTSA faculty, staff, and students. Attendees will be able to complete short projects that will give them the opportunity to produce artifacts that they can use to improve digital literacy in their courses
Virtual EventThe Innovation Academy is an 8-hour online hybrid course designed to introduce faculty to a variety of educational ideas, best practices and resources for becoming more comfortable in teaching in different modalities. This academy will run July 18 – August 21. Upon completion of all activities, faculty will receive a one-time incentive of $1,000
Virtual EventLearn how to design surveys that are scientifically valid and are inclusive of diverse populations. Anchored in culturally and linguistically competent practices, this interactive workshop will explore and apply concepts related to the lifecycle of survey development from design to implementation.
Virtual EventThe virtual conference will bring together information professionals and academics to discuss current research, ideas, insights, and best practices that advance STEM research and education.
Virtual EventThe 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.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
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.