Revision as of 23:08, 1 October 2014

Campus Overview

1 Introduction
2 Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship
3 Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship
4 University Technology Transfer
5 University-Industry Collaboration
6 Regional/Local Economic Development Efforts
7 Campus Programs
8 Events and Seminars
9 Off Campus Resources and Centers
- 9.1 Incubators
10 Landscape Canvas
11 Related Links

Introduction

The University of California, San Diego is a campus with a rich innovation and entrepeurial environment. Home of the Rady School of Management and Jacobs School of Engineering, students at UCSD, in both undergraduate and graduate programs, have access to a wide variety of workshops, programs, clubs, and other organizations involving innovation and entrepeurial ventures. With over 30,000 undergraduate students, many startups in technology, life sciences, and social innovation are produced by student entrepeneurs.

Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship

UCSD's students have a prominent campus role in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. With a number of programs and events geared towards undergraduates, innovation has become a significant part of student culture, both within undergraduate and graduate circles. Through incubator programs, business pitch competitions, and a strong culture of awareness within the campus, students at UCSD are able to participate within the Innovation Ecosystem.

The Moxie Center is UCSD's premier center for undergraduate innovation. The Moxie Center is an undergraduate innovation incubator, guiding student teams through understanding the Lean Startup model and building their start up companies. Entrance to the Moxie Center requires an application and approval by its directors, after which the Center provides a number of valuable resources. With strong ties to the von Leibeg Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Rady School of Managment, the Jacobs School of Engineering, the Moxie Center puts students in touch with important advisors and contacts, in engineering, business, and legal fields. The Center is outfitted with two locations-- a dry lab center, with tables, tools, 3d printers, and more equipment to allow student teams to work on their products and innovations, and a second workspace location, with more whiteboards, meeting rooms, and resources available to Moxie students.

Business pitch competitions at UCSD's campus are common within the Jacobs school of Engineering and the Rady school of managment. Several annual competitions take place at UCSD; the Trinet Challenge is a collaboratie pitch event between Jacobs, Rady, and Scripps, with the opportunity to win over $15K in funding, and is open to undergraduates; the UCSD e-Challenge has several stages, and gives out more than $100k in funding and resources over its several events, and is also open to undergraduates; the Moxie Center puts on the Zahn Prize every year, open to students within the Moxie Center. Even more small events take place on UCSD's campus, like Moxie's frequent Fastpitch Contests for small cash prizes. The vast majority of the business pitch competitions are open to undergraduate students, but predominantly find participation from graduate student teams. These competitions are open to public viewing, and attract significant attention from local industry repreresentatives, including executives from prominent organizations, like Qualcomm, General Atomics, Evo Nexus, and more. These competitions, in addition to providing participants with potential prize money, serve as excellent mixers and networking events, and create strong ties between campus participators and outside bodies.