Building a Regional Innovation Ecosystem Using I-Corps

Building a regional innovation ecosystem requires certain foundational elements to create a sustainable and growth-oriented entrepreneurial community. MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas have used the I-Corps program as a fundamental building block to begin the development of the entrepreneurial mindset across the UT-System. Our regional I-Corps activities have leveraged the resources and expertise from the UT-System, other UT institutions, SW I-Corps Node, and local partners around the Texas Medical Center to launch a program in mid-2015, resulting in over 200 participants, 35 academic teams regional programs, and four teams being selected to the national programs for NSF and NIH. This panel discussion will focus on the strategies that made it successful and how MD Anderson has leveraged system resources, communication channels, and internal/external stakeholders to accelerate the program quickly to gain traction. The panel will address changes and considerations for engaging the evolving working population.

Chris Taylor, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Alejandro Tortoriello, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Carlos Kemeny, University of Texas

Track: Topics in I&E