NSF I-Corps Hub (Track 1): Southwest Region

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

The NSF I-Corps Southwest Hub has established a standardized regional I-Corps infrastructure across the southwest region with a robust expansion plan and ready access to entrepreneurial training to assist researchers in applying customer discovery principles in technology translation. Even with over 50 Fortune 500 research and development (R&D) and corporate headquarters located across the region, this vibrant ecosystem still has large disparities in terms of access to capital, experienced entrepreneurs, and mentors for deep tech researchers, resulting in challenges in meeting the growing innovation and workforce demands of the region. The Southwest Hub addresses these challenges by bringing together a unique coalition of partner institutions to mitigate workforce, knowledge transfer, and capital disparities, which are critical impediments to a thriving deep tech venture ecosystem. The Southwest Hub institutions have successful track records of training researchers to apply customer discovery principles to develop products that are commercially relevant and attractive to potential investors and downstream partners. Additionally, the Southwest Hub seeks to increase the participation in the I-Corps program at all levels, including I-Corps teams, instructors, and leadership across the region. This I-Corps Hubs project is based on the development of a systematic and comprehensive regional network of programming that accelerates the translation of federally funded research into innovations that benefit society and support deep tech workforce development and economic growth. The Hub represents educational partners in one of the fastest growing regions in the United States with a vibrant innovation ecosystem driven by an R&D portfolio of over $3 billion. With faculty, graduate students, post-docs, and other researchers, and an expert network of trainers, mentors, and entrepreneurs, a key impact will be increased participation in national I-Corps programs throughout the region, leading to an ecosystem that is sustainable and thriving. The commercialization roadmap has enhanced partnerships between academia and industry. The research component will test a data-driven hub-and-spoke model and its impact on training for successful outcomes, improving the understanding of innovation processes, and generating policy findings to improve the speed and likelihood of success for deep technology commercialization. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.