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= <span style="font-size: x-large;">Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration</span><br/> =
<font size="3">Right now, the strongest connection <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">that Wofford College has with in</span>dustry in the surrounding area is with the Iron Yard. By their description,<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">"</span></font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 1.4;">The Iron Yard exists to create exceptional value for people and their ideas through code education, startup accelerators and coworking spaces." The Iron Yard is a thinktank and startup incubator headquartered in Greenville, SC and with its second location in Spartanburg, SC, both of which are very near Wofford's campus. The SPACE at Wofford has held a number of events in conjunction with the Iron Yard, both on Wofford's campus and on the Iron Yard's campuses. The Iron Yard teaches coding classes to entrepreneurs needing to learn the skill, and also provides startup support for entrepreneurs looking to get off the ground. Most importantly, the Iron Yard serves as a networking hub through which a number of different professionals (programmers, designeers, investors, business managers, event coordinators, etc.) flow. This is most significant to Wofford students because is provides a centralized place for students to look for professional expertise or connections to other third parties.</span></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;">Also of importance is a capital network in South Carolina Angel Network (SCAN). SCAN is "an association of angel groups and early stage investors located across the Palmetto State." SCAN is a significant source of venture capitalist funding throughout South Carolina, especially in areas of more extensive business. In January 2015, SCAN launched another sub-network, the Spartanburg Angel Network, which carries out the same purpose of SCAN and its other sub-networks, but is specific to the Spartanburg area. Spartanburg's network was spearheaded by John Bauknight, a local success and business owner (of a restaurant and brewery in Spartanburg). The Spartanburg Angel Network is comprised of business owners and investors looking to grow their money through venture capitalism, which is of great interest to Wofford's entrepreneurs. Some faculty and alumni of Wofford have contacts with John Bauknight, and the Spartanburg Angel Network could potentially be a valuable resource for collaboration and partnership.</span>