The Georgia Research Alliance’s VentureLab and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars programs earned Excellence in Technology-Based Economic Development Awards from the State Science and Technology Institute.
The awards recognize exceptional achievement in technology-based economic development, which fosters a climate where innovative companies that develop and adopt technology will thrive.
Such programs tend to focus on several elements that have been found in successful technology-based economies, including a research base that generates new knowledge, mechanisms for transferring knowledge into the marketplace, an entrepreneurial culture, sources of risk capital and a technically skilled workforce.
VentureLab is a GRA strategy for enhancing and accelerating the process of spinning new technology-based enterprises out of university research. The program currently operates at five of GRA’s partner universities—including UGA—seeking out university-based research innovations, assessing their commercial potential and providing resources to form new ventures. VentureLab awards seed grants to universities and early-stage companies. Award winners were selected through a competitive process by committees of accomplished practitioners and policymakers serving as judges. The awards were handed out at SSTI’s annual conference last month in Baltimore.
