The Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic offers free transactional legal assistance to nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurs, and small businesses in Texas. The services are provided in a law school clinic setting where second- and third-year law students are closely supervised by the Clinic’s law faculty, who are attorneys with more than 20 years of transactional legal experience.

When a UT researcher has a personal financial interest or association with a company that aims to further develop and commercialize their UT-owned technology, there can be a perceived or actual conflict of interest. The Office of Research Support and Compliance helps researchers address personal, financial conflict(s) of interest related to their research activities, through the implementation of financial conflict of interest management strategies.

The Office of Technology Commercialization has an expert team dedicated to helping interested parties find the best UT technologies for their specific needs. Through utilization of a powerful web-based search tool, or connecting one-on-one with a team member, we can provide a tailored list of available UT intellectual property. Our team works with potential partners to transfer university technology or discoveries to the marketplace for the benefit of society.

The Find Funding page on the Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors is a clearinghouse of internal and external research funding opportunities available to UT Austin researchers. The Find Funding page includes links to searchable databases containing funding opportunities in the Innovation and Economic Impact space applicable for innovators.

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 UT System Board of Regents Rule 90101: Intellectual Property provides guidance on timely and efficient processes to manage intellectual property. These fundamental principles are intended to be adaptable to the highly varied circumstances that characterize the private sector and the portfolio of research at UT System institutions.

Longhorn Startup Lab is a joint program with Capital Factory that allows student entrepreneurs to work on their startup under the guidance of successful mentors and provides students with a vast network they can use to accelerate growth. The Longhorn Startup Seminar is a semester-long class that brings guest speakers in to introduce students to the world of entrepreneurship. It is designed as a beginner course and students do not need a startup idea to be involved.

The Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) is the only organization on campus authorized to manage university-owned IP (trademarks excepted). The OTC works with researchers to define the technology, assess its development stage, strategize potentially valuable patent claims, and as necessary, file patents to protect the IP in advance of publication. The OTC also supports technologies that are not patentable, such as software and copyrighted works that may be commercialized via license.

For companies that have participated in our proposal preparation workshops and on-demand webinars, select 1:1 proposal preparation support may be available. Inquiries may be sent to Andrew Worden, Entrepreneurship Program Manager at Andrew.worden@austin.utexas.edu