Hosted by the Texas Innovation Center, KS WEL Institute's Female Founder Pitch Competition showcases emerging businesses and technologies that are paving the way to have a significant impact on the world. Open to all UT Austin undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, alumnae, and startup ecosystem women-founders, this startup competition aims to highlight innovation happening in the heart of Texas.

The Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) engages first-year students in real-world research experiences with UT faculty and scientists. Each year, more than 1000 undergraduates explore unanswered questions in STEM fields to uncover new knowledge and develop innovative technologies in 30 faculty-led research groups. FRI has become a national model for science education, as students are more likely to complete STEM degrees and graduate better prepared to pursue advanced degrees or industry jobs.

Global Virtual Exchange encourages UT Austin faculty to co-create collaborative online international learning courses with peers at universities around the world. Virtual exchanges foster meaningful, sustainable, and accessible international experiences for all UT Austin students. Courses focused on entrepreneurship and innovation are invited to apply.

Hacking For Defense (HFD) is an undergraduate course sponsored by the National Security Innovation Network, a problem-solving network under the Department of Defense. In H4D, teams of students apply lean startup principles to validated and curated problems presented by organizations within the US military and intelligence communities. Students work collaboratively with national security professionals to rapidly address the nation’s emerging threats and security challenges.

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.

Home to Texas is a summer internship and workforce development program that facilitates UT undergraduates with well-paid internships and sociology research experiences designed to help them understand the underlying values of their home communities. The IC² Institute has partnered with UT Austin School of Undergraduate Studies and Texas Career Engagement for the program, matching early undergraduate students from all majors with employers in their hometowns as interns/researchers.

Human Dimensions of Organizations' Professional Training brings together UT Austin’s finest researchers to provide a transformative educational experience for current and aspiring leaders. Drawing the humanities and social sciences, our programs meet needs not addressed by other executive education options: providing a deep understanding of people. We host open-enrollment classes for individuals and custom training for groups.

The master of arts degree in Human Dimensions of Organizations is for mid-career professionals who are interested in learning about the application of the humanities and social/behavioral sciences to their work lives. We work with full and associate faculty to teach a variety of courses. Faculty are paid an overload for teaching in this program. UT staff are welcome additions to our cohort.

The Center for Integrated Design offers approximately 30 design-based courses each year. We offer the most cutting-edge innovation and creative practices that companies are demanding. Our courses are open for any enrolled student at UT Austin, and provide a range of offerings from Introduction to Design Thinking, skills like sketching and storytelling, and advanced coursework in partnership with Austin Design companies. Specific courses can be found on our website.

The Inventors Program (IP) engages undergraduates in applied experiences where they generate solutions to interesting questions. IP is inclusive to students who may not typically identify as entrepreneurs or innovators. Student teams are scaffolded through tiered experiences where they explore problem-scoping and ideation and develop industry and scientific skills with prototyping and project pitches. An IP industry network prepares students for internships and future careers in STEM industries.