Silver State Times

As part of a new federal innovation initiative, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) now has access to the knowledge of seven other top Western universities as it works to bring campus-driven economic development to Southern Nevada, a recent news release said.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) made the announcement about the growth of its Innovation Network earlier this month, the release said. The network "empowers researchers and entrepreneurs across the country to learn how to bring innovation research to the marketplace."

“UNLV has been involved with the Innovation Corps since 2017, and it has a track record of success,” Leith Martin said in the release. Martin oversees the program as executive director of the Troesh Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UNLV's Lee Business School.

For the purpose of giving academic researchers in all branches of science and engineering entrepreneurial training, the NSF established five additional university-based Innovation Corps (I-Corps) regional hubs, the release said. UNLV joins the Desert and Pacific Hub, one of 10 nationwide initiatives aimed at promoting "an inclusive innovation ecosystem across the U.S."

UNLV's inclusion in the hub “not only confirms its role in economic development and innovation advancement, but brings additional resources to bear to enable that important role and further its mission,” said Ji Mi Choi, ASU Knowledge Enterprise vice president, who will serve as director of the hub.

Martin noted that their efforts can bring new thinking to campuses.

“We will be able to as a group leverage mentorship across the institutions,” he said. “Over time we create clusters of assets and clusters of expertise that’s developed in certain areas.”