UNY I-Corps–created by a partnership between the URochester, Cornell University, and Rochester Institute of Technology–serves the Northeastern region and leverages New York’s robust academic and industrial resources.

Designed to prepare participants to innovate and create beyond the academic sphere, the Upstate New York Node provides targeted curriculum and mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs. Currently, eight teams are engaged in a short course that will take them through the process of customer discovery and validating a business model. Short courses provide researchers with a way to get involved in the I-Corps network, and registration for the March 2017 Short Course is now open at unyicorps.org.

Each year, the UNY I-Corps Node will recommend 20-30 teams to the National NSF program, where participants can receive $50K in NSF funding and other opportunities.

UNY I-Corps is part of the , a national network of NSF-funded researchers from , Sites, and Nodes. Working together, this network of thinkers addresses America’s needs for innovation education, infrastructure, and research.

This fall, more than 350 entrepreneurship experts from the United States and abroad will arrive in Rochester as the city showcases two universities’ entrepreneurial expertise, dynamic growth, excellence in programming, and impact on the local community and beyond.

The 2016 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, or GCEC—co-hosted by the Ģ����ý and Rochester Institute of Technology—will be held Sept. 29 through Oct. 1. The conference, themed “Turning Over a New Leaf,” features a variety of plenary sessions, workshops, breakout discussions and keynote speeches from national and international entrepreneurship experts as well as UR and RIT faculty and staff.

“This is great news for the Rochester region and I was proud to lend my support to the application,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY. “Rochester continues to lead the way in innovation and commercialization of new ideas, which this convention will spotlight. Bringing together the world’s leading stakeholders in the entrepreneurship education community will continue to highlight everything that the region has to offer and ensure a new generation will carry on Rochester’s high-tech legacy.”

Rochester is known worldwide as a technology hub. The area is nationally noted for patents per capita and its robust entrepreneurial environment.

“It’s no surprise that the URochester and Rochester Institute of Technology were selected to host this global conference,” said Rep. Louise Salughter, D-NY. “I congratulate them for the opportunity it will provide to showcase their entrepreneurial achievements. These two prestigious institutions are making incredible contributions to our region’s high tech economy and I’m proud to support their efforts. I have no doubt attendees will be impressed with Rochester and our world-class universities.”

According to Richard DeMartino, endowed chair and director of RIT’s Albert J. Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship, hosting the conference attendees in Rochester is a nod toward the city’s national standing in this area.

“Rochester has a rich history of innovation and it started 100 years ago with companies like Eastman Kodak, Xerox and Bausch & Lomb,” said DeMartino. “These organizations, in turn, helped in the creation of large universities, such as RIT and UR, and further helped foster economic development in the region. This conference, which provides tremendous visibility to our universities, is a reflection of the advancement of the region, and the partnership of RIT and UR leads to an approach that is complementary where strengths in technology, design and business meet research in optics and medicine.”

“As Rochester has changed from being dominated by a few companies to one with hundreds of high-tech companies, the role of Centers for Entrepreneurship has become ever more important,” said Duncan Moore, vice provost of entrepreneurship at the URochester. “While this GCEC gathering will bring together center directors, staff, and faculty to discuss best practices in entrepreneurship education, one of the areas of focus will be how centers drive economic development.”

The defines entrepreneurship as generating and transforming ideas into enterprises that create value—economic or social. More than a discrete set of business skills or practices, entrepreneurship is a calling that can be pursued in many realms of experience and achievement. Launched in 2006 by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and named in 2015 in recognition of Mark S. Ain ’67S (MBA) and his wife Carolyn for their visionary leadership and support of entrepreneurship education throughout the University, the Ain Center offers programs, competitions, events and services university-wide for students of all disciplines, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater Rochester community.

The Ain Center provides the following:

• programs to enable aspiring entrepreneurs such as the UR Student Incubator at High Tech Rochester; the National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps Site program; mentorship from designated Entrepreneurs-in-Residence; the Ain Center Lecture Series featuring famous entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship educators; the Mark Ain Business Model Workshop Series; and events and speakers during Global Entrepreneurship Week and National Entrepreneurship Week;
• access to funding and technology development through the Tech Development Fund run by UR Ventures, the office of technology transfer; the I-Corps Site program; the Simon School Venture Capital Fund, a $1 million fund overseen by graduate business students; and publicizing external grant, fellowship, accelerator, and competition opportunities;
• student business plan competitions such as the Mark Ain Business Model Competition, open to students university-wide from any discipline and at any level of study; the Charles and Janet Forbes Entrepreneurial Award, open to undergraduate engineering students; the Eastman New Venture Challenge, open to music students; the intercollegiate Finger Lakes Regional Contest where winners in six categories advance to the statewide New York Business Plan Competition; and the Tibetan Innovation Challenge, a global intercollegiate social entrepreneurship competition to develop self-sustaining and replicable business ideas that improve the lives of Tibetan refugees;
• support of Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year Scholars: a signature program that offers selected students a fifth, tuition-free year of college to launch an enterprise or intern at a startup;
• undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship courses offered through the Simon Business School;
• support of entrepreneurship faculty and staff through monthly luncheons covering designated topics and regional summits to discuss best practices in entrepreneurship;
• advising and support of student-run entrepreneurship organizations such as SPARK Entrepreneurs (undergraduates), UR Consulting Group (an undergraduate consulting firm offering pro-bono services to startups and non-profits), and the Simon Entrepreneurs Association (graduate business students);
• administration of the Master of Science in Technical Entrepreneurship and Management program, an interdisciplinary graduate degree designed for engineers.

, established in 2007, is widely recognized as a national leader in multidisciplinary and experiential education in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. The center—created to help students studying in all disciplines learn as they advance and realize their own ideas and projects—works in partnership with RIT’s Venture Creations business incubator.

The center provides students with:

• innovation and commercialization coaches
• access to funding for early-stage innovation projects through competitions such as Tiger Tank, where students can pitch ideas to expert judges; Finger Lakes Regional Business Plan Competition, Student Innovation Challenge, and Business Model Competition;
• access to workspace such as Student Innovation Hall, Entrepreneurship Center Office and The Construct, a student-run makerspace;
• workshops and programs for idea generation and prototype development such as RIT IdeaLab, a weekend-long event where problems and challenges are linked with student problem solvers; Saunders Start-up, an intense program aimed at developing business concepts and seeking financial investors; NSF I-Corps Program funding to assist students commercialize ideas; and Studio 9.30 RIT Design Consultancy, a multidisciplinary studio focused on the production of access and health technologies products;
• designated entrepreneurship courses through Saunders College of Business and School of Individualized Study; and
• co-op credit for students working full time on their innovation projects.

“What you’ll see from RIT is a very applied entrepreneurship program where technologists, designers and business students unite to advance both the business concept and the product development concept,” added DeMartino.

The GCEC, the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship, allows universities to network, benchmark and explore how to best promote entrepreneurship education and new venture creation. It has become the vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening and celebrating the role of universities in teaching the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

The GCEC current membership totals more than 225 university-based entrepreneurship centers ranging in age from well established and nationally ranked to new and emerging centers. Each year a global conference is held on the campus of a GCEC member school.

For more information about the conference at UR/RIT and to watch a , go to .

The Texas Tech students won for their business idea PATA, an online point-of-sales system that allows Tibetan handicraft producers to target western consumers.

A team of six students representing Syracuse University and including one student from the Rochester Institute of Technology won second place and $2,500 for their business idea tsampa- A Taste of Tibet is a nutrition bar produced by Tibetan refugees in India and sold in the United States.

Three Simon Business School students from the Ģ����ý placed third for their business idea Tibetan Microfinance, which aims to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of Tibetans living in India by bringing them basic financial training and access to capital.

The other finalists included teams from Case Western Reserve University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Maryland.

The six teams presented their ideas to a panel of judges at the Tibet House US last night. Judges included Jeff Hoffman, a successful serial entrepreneur who has been part of the founding teams for companies such as Priceline.com and uBid.com; Lobsang Nyandak, executive director of the Tibet Fund and trustee to H.H. the Dalai Lama; Song Pak, senior vice president of operations and acting general counsel for Revolution LLC, and general counsel and chief compliance officer for Revolution Growth; and Thubten Samdup, former representative of H.H. the Dalai Lama to Northern Europe.

The teams presented the following ideas:

• First place – Texas Tech University: PATA will revitalize the handicraft market by providing an online point-of-sales system that allows handicraft producers to target western countries.
• Second place – Syracuse University: tsampa- A Taste of Tibet is a nutrition bar produced by Tibetan refugees in India and sold in the U.S.
• Third place – Ģ����ý: Tibetan Microfinance will unlock the entrepreneurial potential of Tibetans living in India by bringing them basic financial training and access to capital.
• Finalist – Case Western Reserve University: Provide Internet cafes powered by solar energy and Tesla-powered wall batteries.
• Finalist – University of California, Los Angeles: Khata Studios will produce and distribute podcasts, targeted at young Tibetans, with programming designed to develop interest in their culture and motivate economic development.
• Finalist – University of Maryland: To offer a three-part curriculum — “Enlighten,” “Enrich” and “Engage”— that teaches entrepreneurship to students in the Tibetan Children’s Village school system.

“The Tibetan Innovation Challenge seeks to match the best business ideas from talented students from some of the top business schools in the U.S. with a select group of Tibetan entrepreneurs,” said Kaydor Aukatsang, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to North America. “And those entrepreneurs will put the ideas into action to both place themselves and the Tibetan refugee community in India on a path of self-reliance and economic freedom.”

Tibetan refugees will have access to all of the business plans submitted, not just the advancing or winning ideas, in addition to seed funding earmarked by the Dalai Lama to implement the business models. The Ģ����ý coordinated the competition in partnership with The Art of Peace Foundation, the Tibet House Trust in London, the Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED) initiative, and the Tibet House US. For more information, visit .

Ģ����ý the Ģ����ý Center for Entrepreneurship
The Ģ����ý Center for Entrepreneurship, launched by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant awarded to the University in 2003, provides the University and greater Rochester communities with resources to generate and transform ideas into enterprises that create economic or social value. More information about the Center is available at .

Ģ����ý The Art of Peace Foundation
The Art of Peace Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded on the Dalai Lama’s belief of “Universal Responsibility.” Regardless of nation, culture or religion, skillful compassionate actions can reduce suffering and promote happiness. The Dalai Lama has expressed deep concern over a trend of young Tibetans forced to leave their communities in search of gainful employment. The Art of Peace Foundation’s executive director and Associate Director of Social Entrepreneurship at the URochester, Michael Wohl, established the intercollegiate Tibetan Innovation Challenge competition to engage entrepreneurial-minded students to develop sustainable businesses for Tibetan refugees. The Art of Peace Foundation is funding the first place award. With artists like Sting, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Peter Gabriel, etc., the Art of Peace Foundation has also produced albums to support Tibetan culture.

Ģ����ý the Tibet House Trust
Tibet House Trust is auk registered charity, inaugurated in 1994 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the patron of the Trust. Its purpose is to preserve the distinct Tibetan culture and identity, and enable the Tibetans to attain a sustainable life in exile while working for an eventual return to their homeland. Since its inception, the Tibet House Trust has worked closely with the various departments of the Central Tibetan Administration on a number of projects for health, educational, cultural, economic and community development needs of the refugee community. Funding for the Trust projects is raised from individual donations, NGOs, European Commission, Comic Relief and Big Lottery Fund, etc. The Tibet House Trust will continue to focus its efforts on strengthening the exile community, for it is here that Tibetan culture and national identity are being sustained.

Ģ����ý the Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED)
Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED), an initiative of the Social and Resource Development Fund (SARD), aims to be an agent of change in helping orient Tibetan entrepreneurs and businesses towards becoming competitive, sustainable and impact-oriented. At present, most Tibetan entrepreneurs are involved in livelihood businesses with little competitive, innovative and growth-oriented mindset. TED plans to bring in changes to this laid-back attitude of doing business by nurturing innovative ideas and an ecosystem to address the various impediments that today’s aspiring entrepreneurs are facing. We hope through this initiative, we will be able to create many successful and competitive entrepreneurs who will act as role models for other aspiring youths to emulate and thus, help instill an entrepreneurial culture within the community which will ultimately contribute to the community’s economic well-being.

Ģ����ý the Tibet House US
Tibet House US was founded at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who at his inauguration in 1987 stated his wish for a long-term cultural institution to ensure the survival of Tibetan civilization and culture, whatever the political destiny of the six million people of Tibet itself. Tibet House US is dedicated to preserving Tibet’s unique culture at a time when it is confronted with extinction on its own soil. By presenting Tibetan civilization and its profound wisdom, beauty, and special art of freedom to the people of the world, we hope to inspire others to join the effort to protect and save it. Tibet House US is part of a worldwide network of Tibetan institutions committed to ensuring that the light of the Tibetan spirit never disappears from the face of this earth.

NEW YORK CITY — The Tibetan Innovation Challenge is a new intercollegiate social entrepreneurship business plan competition created to improve the lives of 125,000 Tibetan refugees. The goal of the Challenge, which is organized by the URochester, is to develop self-sustaining and replicable business ideas to alleviate the economic difficulties Tibetan refugees are facing.

“The competition will bring college students across the U.S. into productive relationships with Tibetans, their culture, and the societal issues they face as refugees,” said Michael Wohl, competition originator and associate director of social entrepreneurship at the URochester. “It will provide creative and entrepreneurial growth for the students, vital economic benefits to the Tibetan people, and deeper understanding and connection to our shared humanity.”

In May 2015, six select universities across the country held competitions for teams of students, including at least one graduate business student, to develop practical business ideas that Tibetan refugees in India might implement in their communities. Each university selected one team to advance to the National Finals in New York City in July, where Tibetans and supporters of the cause will serve as judges and select the winning business plan. Judges include Kaydor Aukatsang, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to North America; Jeff Hoffman, a successful serial entrepreneur who has been part of the founding teams for companies such as Priceline.com and uBid.com; Lobsang Nyandak, executive director of the Tibet Fund and trustee to H.H. the Dalai Lama; Song Pak, senior vice president of operations and acting general counsel for Revolution LLC, and general counsel and chief compliance officer for Revolution Growth; and Thubten Samdup, former representative of H.H. the Dalai Lama to Northern Europe.

“The ideas presented at this competition may be truly transformative for the Tibetan refugee population,” said Joel Seligman, president of the URochester. “Additionally, the competition represents a collaboration among diverse institutions uniting under the singular goal of furthering social good—a core value of the Ģ����ý in our ongoing quest to embrace the university’s motto of Meliora, or ever better.”

Proposed ideas from the six finalist universities include:

• Case Western Reserve University: Provide Internet cafes powered by solar energy and Tesla-powered wall batteries.
• Syracuse University: tsampa- A Taste of Tibet is a nutrition bar produced by Tibetan refugees in India and sold in the U.S.
• Texas Tech University: PATA will revitalize the handicraft market by providing an online point-of-sales system that allows handicraft producers to target western countries.
• University of California, Los Angeles: Khata Studios will produce and distribute podcasts, targeted at young Tibetans, with programing designed to develop interest in their culture and motivate economic development.
• University of Maryland: To offer a three-part curriculum — “Enlighten,” “Enrich” and “Engage” — that teaches entrepreneurship to students in the Tibetan Children’s Village school system.
• Ģ����ý: Himalayan Microfinance will unlock the entrepreneurial potential of Tibetans living in India by bringing them basic financial training and access to capital.

“The Tibetan Innovation Challenge seeks to match the best business ideas from talented students from some of the top business schools in the U.S. with a select group of Tibetan entrepreneurs. And those entrepreneurs will put the ideas into action to both place themselves and the Tibetan refugee community in India on a path of self-reliance and economic freedom,” said Aukatsang. “I wish this innovative enterprise much success.”

The National Finals, an invitation-only event, will be held on July 10, 2015 at the Tibet House US in Manhattan. The students’ presentations will take place in the early evening, followed by a reception. The first, second and third place winners will be announced at a private award ceremony the next morning.

Tibetan refugees will have access to all of the business plans submitted, not just the advancing or winning ideas, in addition to seed funding earmarked by the Dalai Lama, to implement the business models. The Ģ����ý is coordinating the competition in partnership with The Art of Peace Foundation, the Tibet House Trust in London, the Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED) initiative, and the Tibet House US. For more information, visit .

Ģ����ý the Ģ����ý Center for Entrepreneurship

The Ģ����ý Center for Entrepreneurship, launched by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant awarded to the University in 2003, provides the University and greater Rochester communities with resources to generate and transform ideas into enterprises that create economic or social value. More information about the Center is available at .

Ģ����ý The Art of Peace Foundation

The Art of Peace Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded on the Dalai Lama’s belief of “Universal Responsibility.” Regardless of nation, culture or religion, skillful compassionate actions can reduce suffering and promote happiness. The Dalai Lama has expressed deep concern over a trend of young Tibetans forced to leave their communities in search of gainful employment. The Art of Peace Foundation’s executive director and Associate Director of Social Entrepreneurship at the URochester, Michael Wohl, established the intercollegiate Tibetan Innovation Challenge competition to engage entrepreneurial-minded students to develop sustainable businesses for Tibetan refugees. The Art of Peace Foundation is funding the first place award. With artists like Sting, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Peter Gabriel, etc., the Art of Peace Foundation has also produced albums to support Tibetan culture.

Ģ����ý the Tibet House Trust

Tibet House Trust is the UK registered charity, inaugurated in 1994 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the patron of the Trust. Its purpose is to preserve the distinct Tibetan culture, identity and enable the Tibetan to attain a sustainable life in exile while working for an eventual return to their homeland. Since its inception, the Tibet House Trust has work closely with the various Departments of Central Tibetan Administration on a number of projects for health, educational, cultural, economic and community development needs of the refugee community. Funding for the Trust projects are raised from individual donations,

NGOs, European Commission, Comic Relief and Big Lottery Fund etc. The Tibet House Trust will continue to focus its efforts on strengthening the exile community, for it is here that Tibetan culture and national identity are being sustained.

Ģ����ý the Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED)

Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED), an initiative of the Social and Resource Development Fund (SARD), aims to be an agent of change in helping orient Tibetan entrepreneurs and businesses towards becoming competitive, sustainable and impact-oriented. At present, most of Tibetan entrepreneurs are involved in livelihood businesses without much competitive, innovative and growth mindset. TED plans to bring in changes to this laid-back attitude of doing business by nurturing innovative ideas and ecosystem to address the various impediments that today’s aspiring entrepreneurs are facing. We hope through this initiative, we will be able to create many successful and competitive entrepreneurs who will act as role models for other aspiring youths to emulate and thus, help instilled an entrepreneurial culture within the community which will ultimately contribute to the community’s economic well being.

Ģ����ý the Tibet House US

Tibet House US was founded at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who at his inauguration in 1987 stated his wish for a long-term cultural institution to ensure the survival of Tibetan civilization and culture, whatever the political destiny of the six million people of Tibet itself. Tibet House US is dedicated to preserving Tibet’s unique culture at a time when it is confronted with extinction on its own soil. By presenting Tibetan civilization and its profound wisdom, beauty, and special art of freedom to the people of the world, we hope to inspire others to join the effort to protect and save it. Tibet House US is part of a worldwide network of Tibetan institutions committed to ensuring that the light of the Tibetan spirit never disappears from the face of this earth.