Finalists, Representing Leading Economic Development Initiatives Across North America, Will Compete at Annual Summit in September
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – August 4, 2014 – The 2014 UEDA Awards of Excellence finalists have been chosen and the competition this year is at an all time high. Each year, universities and organizations across North America submit nominations for innovative programs that focus on developing economic prosperity in their communities and beyond. A panel university and economic development professionals have chosen 19 finalists from the group of nominated projects.
The UEDA awards are designed to help accelerate these programs by recognizing cutting edge initiatives, and to promote their adoption by other universities and communities. Program categories include: Community Connected Campuses, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Collaboration, Research and Analysis, Talent Development.
Those attending UEDA’s Annual Summit (#UEDASummit), taking place September 28 – October 1, 2014, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will judge the Awards finalists. Criterion for judging includes initiative replicability, scalability, sustainability, impact, and originality. The Awards are the cornerstone program of the UEDA Annual Summit, whose program features best practices in economic development.
The 2014 UEDA Awards of Excellence finalists in each category are as follows:
Community Connected Campus
- Arizona State University’s ASU Chandler Innovation Center
- Arizona State University’s Alexandria Co-Working Network
- Kent State University’s College Town Kent
- University City Science Center’s Quorum
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Arizona State University’s Furnace Technology Transfer Accelerator
- Innovation Works, Inc.’s Research Commercialization Program
- Philadelphia University’s Nexus Innovation Program
- University of Texas San Antonio’s Texas International Business Accelerator / Foreign Direct Investment
Leadership and Collaboration
- TechConnect West Virginia’s TechConnect West Virginia
- University of Northern Iowa’s EntreFEST
- University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service’s University of Tennessee – TREEDC International Exchange Program
- University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s AeroInnovate
Research and Analysis
- University of Hawaii / Pacific Business Center Program’s Pacific Region Breadfruit Initiative
- University of Northern Iowa’s Iowa Small Business Owner Survey
- Washington State University / Spokane Public Library’s Spokane’s Business Library
Talent Development
- East Carolina University’s Operation Reentry North Carolina: Tools for Advanced Manufacturing for Veterans
- Iowa State University’s Food Safety Training
- Northern Illinois University’s Joint Institute for Engineering and Technology- Aerospace (JiET-A)
- Washington State University’s Training World Class Research Interns
“Each year, the UEDA community gathers together to share the best practices and to collaborate,” says Rich Overmoyer, Executive Director of UEDA. “The Awards of Excellence honor the exceptional efforts in which our members are engaged and offers vetted and replicable programs that can be implemented in other areas.”
The Annual Summit 2014 will be held at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe. Early bird registration ends at midnight EDT on August 15, 4. Befitting the location, this year’s theme is “Higher Education as a Catalyst for Economic Development: Innovation, Inspiration, Impact.” The city of Santa Fe will provide a colorful backdrop to participants in the higher education, economic development, governmental, and private sectors. This is a must-attend for those interested in top economic development programs, students looking for career paths, investors, university representatives and professionals engaged in developing regional innovation clusters.
This year’s summit agenda includes such topics as Crowdfunding to Commercialize Inventions and Innovations through Startups, Expertise and Resource Portals for University-Industry Engagement, Collaborative Economic Development through Shared Leadership, Leading Regional Transformation Change Through Innovation, Building the Entrepreneurial Sandbox through University Collaborations, and much more. Keynote speakers include author, Bill Fulton, Planning Director for the City of San Diego and former Mayor of Ventura CA.
Complete summit details are at www.UEDAAnnualSummit.org
To register go to https://www.regonline.com/uedaannualsummit2014
About UEDA
Established in 1976, the University Economic Development Association (UEDA) is the cornerstone membership organization representing higher education, private sector and community economic development stakeholders. UEDA works to expand economic opportunity in our communities by leveraging research, community resources, campus planning, talent development, and technology commercialization. UEDA’s mission is to serve its members by enhancing members’ abilities to deliver economic development benefits through engagement with higher education. https://universityeda.org
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