The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem at
the University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Juan Sanchez
Vice President for Research
Outline
• Brief update on UT Austin
– Who are we?
– What have we been doing in the entrepreneurship
arena?
– How is it working?
• Address the issue posed by the University of
Łodz: “ways to finance research at The
University of Texas at Austin”
The University of Texas at Austin
• More than 4,800 individual sponsored projects
conducted in 150 research units (in 2012)
• Annual research funding of ~$620 million
• Nearly 800 patents awarded to UT Austin
• And resources:
• UT Austin has the fifth-largest academic library in the US
and is one of the nation’s top 10 research libraries
• With a 350-acre main campus and satellite research
centers, such as the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, UT Austin
has state of the art laboratories and facilities
UT Austin
Use-Inspired Research
• Mission
CREATE
KNOWLEDGE
– Educate leaders
– Create knowledge
EDUCATE DISTRIBUTE
LEADERS KNOWLEDGE
• Use inspired research
– Disseminate knowledge
Entrepreneurship
Technology
Commercialization
• Establish long term strategic research alliances
– Discovery of new fundamental and applied
sciences and engineering
The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
University-wide Entrepreneurial Activities
• Technology Entrepreneurship Society (TES) focuses on identifying,
cultivating, and supporting the current and future entrepreneurs in the UT
technological community
• Longhorn Startup Seminar introduces students to the world of startups
though the experiences of people who have built successes and learned
from failures.
• The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) harnesses business, government
and academic resources to provide strategic counsel, operational
guidance, and infrastructure support to its member companies to help
them transition into successful, high growth technology businesses.
• Texas Venture Labs (TVL) is a campus-wide initiative to accelerate the rate
of start-ups on its campus, offering entrepreneurs an accelerated route in
bringing their innovations to market.
University-wide Entrepreneurial Activities
• The Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship Growth and
Renewal creates forums for successful entrepreneurs, students and
faculty. We introduce students to the dynamic world of new
venture creation and sustainability.
• The Idea to Product (I2P®) Program refers to applying creative
thought to a technology (“Idea”) and developing a market
application (“Product”) for that technology. The program provides a
range of pathways for innovation including exposing university
technologies to outside investors, aiding university technology spinoffs, and engaging students in the innovation and
commercialization process.
• The University Entrepreneur's Association brings students
interested in entrepreneurship together to share experiences and
ideas. We also host corporate speakers to share their knowledge on
entrepreneurship
University-wide Entrepreneurial Activities
• The Entrepreneurial Research Initiative (ERI) is founded on
two important principles: Students put forth their own
ideas and Students work with Translational Mentors from
outside the University to develop these ideas.
• Student Entrepreneur Acceleration and Launch (SEAL)
program- a program that gives entrepreneur groups
connected to the UT community a chance to figure out
what milestones need to be reached for their business
plans to succeed
• Scientific Entrepreneurial Society stimulates and supports
students culture of innovation, creativity and
entrepreneurship.
University-wide Entrepreneurial Activities
• Bridging Disciplines Programs:
– Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship - Through an
interdisciplinary program that combines courses from Business,
Communication, Fine Arts, and Liberal Arts, students learn how ideas,
inventions, talents, and skills are developed and transformed into
commercial and social ventures.
– Social Entrepreneurship & Non-Profits brings together students who
are interested in pursuing a career in the public service sector and
expanding their involvement in the community.
• Portfolio in Arts and Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship
is a certification program that provides students with crossdisciplinary theoretical and practical training related to the
management and governance of arts and cultural organizations,
and/or the business dimensions of an entrepreneurial artistic career
Entrepreneurial Course Inventory
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Innovation/Creativity/Entrepreneurship
1 Semester Startup (Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship)
Entrepreneurial Management
Marketing for Entrepreneurs
The Liberal Arts Entrepreneur
Venture Capital Fellows Program
Entrepreneurial Journalism
Entrepreneurship & Incubation
Opportunity Identify and Analysis
Social Entrepreneurship
Texas Venture Labs Practicum
New Venture Creation I
New Venture Creation II
Entrepreneurial Growth
Corporate Governance
Entrepreneurs of Technology: Mind-Mkt
Marketing High-Tech Product
Entrepreneurial Growth
Transcending Theory
Technology Commercialization
Technology Commercialization
Technology Commercialization
Technology Commercialization
Technology Commercialization
Technology Commercialization
Now the question…
How does The University of Texas
at Austin finances research?
Trends in R&D Expenditures
(Source: NSF Academic R&D Expenditures)
Total R&D Expenditures
(million $)
632
650
600
Expenditures
622
590
550
493
500
450
431
506
447
400
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Fiscal Year
Federally Financed
Business Financed
(million $)
(million $)
400
300
324
273
289
355
Expenditures
Expenditures
350
350
355
70
309
250
200
68
2011
2012
56
60
49
50
40
68
43
33
36
30
20
2006
2007
2008
2009
Fiscal Year
2010
2011
2012
2006
2007
2008
2009
Fiscal Year
2010
R&D expenditures of Top Universities without a Medical School, ranked by Federal and
Business Funding: FY 2010
Rank by
Federal
Funding
Institution
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
MA Institute of Technology
GA Institute of Technology
U. TX Austin
U. CA, Berkeley
U. IL Urbana-Champaign
U. MD College Park
TX A&M U.
Purdue U. main campus
Rutgers, the State U. NJ-New
U. TX M. D. Anderson Cancer Ctr.
Federal
457,575
372,122
350,308
312,789
303,852
297,896
288,173
232,564
224,894
206,664
Rank by
Busines
Funding
Institution
Business
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
MA Institute of Technology
U. CA, Berkeley
U. TX Austin
U. TX M. D. Anderson Cancer Ctr.
TX A&M U.
GA Institute of Technology
Purdue U. main campus
U. IL Urbana-Champaign
Rutgers, the State U. NJ-New
U. MD College Park
102,882
85,538
56,448
50,712
46,754
45,672
29,593
13,661
10,988
9,118
University – Industry
Impact
UT Austin – Industry Engagement
Research
Roadmap
Center Funding
Master Agreement
Joint Licensing
Staff Exchange
Career Placement
Co-op/Internship
Seminars/Speakers
Advisory Committees
Traditional
Tactical
Strategic
Leverage UT Austin Contribution
• Top engineering and science faculty, graduate
students
• Researchers from strategic partner in close proximity
to faculty/students and facilities
– Research labs
– Analytical instrumentation
– Superior computational facilities and staff (TACC)
• Engage corporate technical staff as full partners in
research
• Multiple modes of engagement beyond research
Leverage Resources
Example: HPC Resources at TACC
Stampede
Linux cluster with 96,000+ cores, 205 TB of total
memory and 2-7 PF peak performance went into
production on January 7, 2013
Negotiated with NSF to use up to 10% of cycles in support of strategic research partners
Know your customers