The Center for Entertainment & Media Industries provides opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs interested in the media and tech industries. Our focus is on facilitating access to these industries, mapping their presence in Austin, and researching their convergence to assess and improve labor conditions and equity issues. In addition to speaker series that hone entrepreneurial skills and build professional networks, we support and promote research, outreach, and innovation projects.

Annual grant for one faculty member to explore an industry related to their area of research with the goal of discovering near-term commercialization opportunities. Over a 12-month period, the faculty member receives a $30,000+ grant to lead a team consisting of a graduate student, undergraduate researchers / market analysts, and paired with an Industry Guide to support their efforts.

The Texas Performing Arts Fabrication Studios are a fully staffed production facility and learning laboratory. We construct scenic elements, painted backdrops, theatrical properties, displays, and installations for funded projects. We co-design projects with UT faculty, staff, and student organizations and fabricate with our professional staff and paid student interns.

At the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center, our dedicated focus is on fostering the growth of entrepreneurial skills and empowering Longhorns to embrace this mindset in their careers, whether through starting their own businesses or driving innovation within established industries. UT founders can tap into the HKEC’s wealth of entrepreneurial resources through our networking and funding opportunities, interactive speaker events, one-on-one mentorship, pitch competitions, and our semester-long practicum, the Forty Acres Founders Program.

As a complement to The Navigator, the Innovation Concierge serves as a nexus for all innovation activity for faculty across the UT campus. The Innovation Concierge is well informed on innovation resources both within the institution, as well as the broader Austin and Texas ecosystems. Faculty are encouraged to connect as needed and the Innovation Concierge will provide a warm handoff to the correct point of contact.

The Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI) supports creatives, founders, leaders, and allies by redefining leadership and entrepreneurship. KS WELI equips and empowers students of all backgrounds through engaging programming and events, spotlighting women-led businesses through the FoundHER Program, and sponsoring interdisciplinary courses within the McCombs Entrepreneurship Minor. Since its founding, KS WELI has become a force on UT’s campus to grow and support the number of women-owned and women-led businesses.

The Moffett Family Summer Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA) is an in-person, 8-week summer program for UT Austin undergraduates. SEA participants will complete 4 of 5 required courses for the Entrepreneurship Minor. Students will develop a foundational understanding of entrepreneurship, through terminology, case-based learning, key theories, and empirical-based practices, while working with local startups, corporate sponsors, McCombs alumni, and entrepreneurial mentors.

The Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program offers $50,000 grants for Faculty and Grad Student/Postdoc researchers to reduce the time and risk associated with translating technologies from lab to market, quickly assessing the market potential of inventions developed from fundamental discoveries in science and engineering. Teams work directly with leadership from the Southwest I-Corps Node (SWICORPS) at UT Austin to gain eligibility and prepare for the NSF grant program through regional activities.

A 9-week summer accelerator program that picks the most promising emerging UT startups (undergrad, grad, and faculty teams) and helps them confront their next market-driven milestone. In its 13th year, alumni companies have collectively raised $100M and generated over $400M in valuation.

The Texas Global Health Security Innovation Consortium (TEXGHS) connects academic, public- and private-sector partners to support companies working towards pandemic preparedness and response in Texas. TEXGHS is developing a health security innovation ecosystem that supports innovators and innovations fighting COVID-19 and future pandemics. UT Austin entrepreneurs should contact TEXGHS when they are seeking to commercialize infectious disease-related innovations at any stage of development.