University Of Texas At San Antonio

This Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) i6 Challenge grant supports the creation of a South –Texas Innovation Partnership Program (S-TIPP) program at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The program leverages the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, Center for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) and the Office of Commercialization and Innovation (OCI), to enhance regional economic vitality. The economic downturn related to oil prices though initially limited to the oil and gas industry, soon rippled across broader regional industries. The S-TIPP efforts are designed to help counter the downturn through the systemic building of partnership driven innovation capacity in the affected regions of 19 primary service counties and 16 secondary counties.

S-TIPP aims to accelerate the proposed economic vitality in the region by facilitating University-Industry-Government knowledge transfer, adoption of best regional commercialization practices, and collation of talent, infrastructure, skill and critical resources. S-TIPP harnesses the entrepreneurial spirit of Texans by creating regional innovation nodes (RIN) within the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of San Marcos-Austin-Round Rock, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Brownsville-Harlingen. The RIN are conduits for innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs to receive mentorship, entrepreneurial education, technology assessment, high-risk capital access programs, SBIR-STTR proposal assistance services and management advisory services. Furthermore, eligible entrepreneurs will be granted access to state of the art proof of concept centers, analytical facilities and expert centers for generation of early data to test the innovation hypothesis. The RIN are designed to strengthen networks, enhance knowledge transfer, showcase innovations, invite early opportunities for investments and facilitate community involvement to support on-going commercialization efforts in the region.

It is anticipated that the S-TIPP will maximize regional impact by facilitating University-Industry-Government partnerships, adoption of best commercialization practices and regional collation of talent, infrastructure, skill and critical resources. The anchor investments in human capital through applied market education and assistance will catalyze and accelerate the commercialization of innovations into new products and services, high growth businesses and jobs.