The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) has been chosen to host the 2023 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) annual conference. The conference will be hosted by UT Dallas’ Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), Dallas Innovates reported, and it will run from October 5 to October 7, 2023.
The GCEC includes “250 university-based entrepreneurship programs ranging in age from well-established and nationally ranked to new and emerging programs” from across the U.S. and around the world, according to the GCEC website.
The IIE is open to all students and is part of the Naveen Jindal School of Management. The IIE was established in 2006 and is a nationally ranked center for student entrepreneurship and innovation. The institute hosts various workshops, programs, networking events, and more throughout the year.
The annual conference gives the participating university entrepreneurship centers an opportunity to work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other to advance the role of universities in teaching future entrepreneurs.
Dr. Richard C. Benson, the president of UT Dallas and the Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership, shared in a statement that the university has a deep focus on entrepreneurship.
“UT Dallas has long had a deeply ingrained entrepreneurial focus that benefits our students, faculty, and the companies with whom we have partnered. We’re honored to be chosen as the site for the next GCEC conference and proud to showcase campus and regional efforts to support entrepreneurship in the realm of tech-oriented research and innovation,” Benson said.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Mindsets and Methods.”
The senior director of programs and operations for the IIE, Dresden Goldberg, stated that the conference will also highlight entrepreneurial systems across North Texas.
Dr. Joseph Pancrazio, the UT Dallas vice president for research and innovation, told Dallas Innovates in a statement that UT Dallas is seen as an entrepreneurial leader in the state.
“We are known in Texas as leaders of entrepreneurship,” Pancrazio said. “This is what we’ve been since our founding. UT Dallas has always been focused on entrepreneurship, meeting industry needs, and interacting with industry — this is all part of our institutional DNA.”
The IIE also hosts the Big Idea Competition and community outreach programs. It manages the Venture Development Center (VDC), a space made in partnership with the Office of Research and Innovation. Students, alumni, and faculty are able to use the VDC to commercialize inventions or ideas.
