University of Texas at Dallas: UTD Chosen To Host Global Entrepreneurship Centers Conference
The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at The University of Texas at Dallas has been selected to host the 2023 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) annual conference Oct. 5-7 in Richardson.
Themed “Mindsets and Methods,” the conference will focus on how to support entrepreneurs and will explore how university-based entrepreneurship centers can be more effective in their methods for teaching mindsets and skills to all students.
“UT Dallas is incredibly honored to be recognized among our peers as the 2023 conference host,” said Dresden Goldberg, senior director of programs and operations for the institute. “We are excited to show off North Texas and the amazing innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems that have emerged in our communities. We look forward to our peers from entrepreneurship centers all over the world joining us to learn, connect, grow and better our efforts in the entrepreneurship space.”
Established in 2006, the institute is a nationally ranked center for student entrepreneurship and innovation and is an interdisciplinary division of the Naveen Jindal School of Management. Programming is open to students from any academic major and includes workshops, networking events, pitch competitions, venture support, innovation programs, scholarships and community outreach.
The institute manages the Venture Development Center (VDC), an incubation space for students, alumni and faculty seeking to commercialize their ideas and inventions, in partnership with the Office of Research and Innovation. An extension of the VDC recently opened at the Richardson Innovation Quarter.
The Blackstone LaunchPad network also is a part of the institute. Funded by a grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, the network makes entrepreneurial skills accessible to all students and recent alumni through startup resources, mentors, advisors and events.
The GCEC is an academic organization that addresses emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the vehicle by which the top established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening and celebrating the role of universities in teaching the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
Each year a global conference is held on the campus of a GCEC member school. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University serves as the administrative home of the GCEC.