Texas Inventionworks (TIW) supports physical prototypes from idea to first article for curriculum, competition teams, research, commercialization and student-led projects.  The staff can help with almost any physical product. Visitors learn to run machines and do the work using 3D printers, laser cutters, wood and metal working, electronics and wireless. It is open to engineering students and via qualified classes or projects for other students, faculty and staff. Please connect to learn more.

The Texas Proof of Concept (POC) Awards provide internal funding to researchers on a competitive basis. Awards serve as a bridge to demonstrate the feasibility of a technology to either attract a commercial partner through licensing or validate the case for establishing a startup. POC Awards (up to $25K) and Texas+ POC Awards (up to $125K in 1:1 match) are focused on helping de-risk inventions to an inflection point in value. Click Learn More for details on the current application cycle.

The Texas Student Research Showdown is a video competition for undergraduate researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. Student researchers create videos communicating their research or creative activity to a general audience. As selected by a panel of faculty judges, the top videos receive monetary awards, as does an audience choice winner selected by UT students. The Office of Undergraduate Research offers support at every step of the process.

The Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition provides UT System graduate students the opportunity to compete for cash prizes while pitching new business ideas. They also receive invaluable feedback from panels of judges comprised of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and investors. Many competitors launch their businesses while others leverage the experience in careers as leaders in their fields. Awards include best three finalists, elevator pitches, healthcare innovation, and military veteran-led.

Texas Venture Labs (TVL) Startup Fellows gain experience in a variety of industries and roles while simultaneously building their expertise and networks. They work on projects that reinforce classroom learning, allowing them to bridge the gap between their career aspirations and their current skill set. TVL offers the following five tracks: TVL Venture Capital Fellow, TVL Social Impact Fellow, TVL Commercialization Fellow, TVL Founder in Residence Fellow, and TVL Ecosystem Fellow.

Dell Medical School’s Health Transformation Research Institute provides leadership and infrastructure to support robust, innovative, and world-class clinical and late-stage (T3-T5) translational research. The Health Transformation Research Institute supports researchers and learners conducting translational investigation, as well as the development of an integrated learning health system in which research is embedded in, drives and reinforces excellence in clinical, educational, and community-focused missions.

A state-of-the-art facility where staff explores the intersection between human perception and large-scale visual analysis through the study of visualization and interactive displays. The Vislab serves as a research hub for human-computer interaction, tiled display software development, and visualization consulting. The Vislab offers opportunities to UT faculty, staff, and students to use visualization, interaction, and computational resources for the exploration and presentation of data. 

UT Austin students interning at a startup or working in an entrepreneurial venture may be eligible to enroll in EXP 000 (undergrad) or EXP 080 (grad), the university's zero-credit internship and experiential learning course. This is a tuition-free course with self-paced experiential activities that help students reflect and build upon their experience. As a benefit, this course maintains enrollment for students who do not plan to enroll in other courses while participating in the experience.