Q: What is an Entrepreneurship Academy?
The Entrepreneurship Academies are the premiere academic program for commercializing research and innovations in the universities. It is a springboard for moving research out of the lab and into the world.
Q: Who attends an academy?
EAs are open to science and engineering senior undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty working on research related to the particular EA.
- Green Tech EA: researchers working on green and sustainable technologies
- Food + Health EA: researchers working on innovations in foods, foods for health, nutrition, and ag sectors.
- Biomedical Engineering EA: biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, bioscience researchers
- UCEA: researchers in any science and engineering field.
Q. How do you select participants?
Our first priority goes to applicants who have a particular research idea or innovation that has market potential within the next 1-2 years. Second priority goes to applicants with research that may be market applicable in the next 3-4 years.
Q: Who speaks at an academy?
The academy is taught by venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, university faculty, industry executives and angel investors who serve as mentors and guest speakers, providing participants with the knowledge and networks needed to take the next steps toward moving research out of the lab and into the world.
Q: Where does the EA take place?
Academies are held at:
UC Davis Conference Center, UC Davis
550 Alumni Lane
Davis, CA 95616
UC Davis Activities and Recreation Center (ARC)
232 ARC
Davis, CA
Q: What is the schedule of events?
A detailed schedule of events will be provided separately, however a summary of the week is as follows:
- Monday, 8:30 am—5 pm; lunch provided, dinner on your own
- Tuesday, 8:30 am—9 pm; lunch and dinner provided
- Wednesday, 8:30 am—8 pm; lunch, dinner on your own
- Thursday, 8:30 am—9 pm; lunch and dinner provided
- Friday, 8 am—2 pm; breakfast, lunch provided
Q. What does the academy fee include?
The academy fee includes dining, materials and tuition for the week. Lodging is included for out of area participants for GTEA and BMEA (thanks for fellowships from our sponsors).
Q: What about lodging?
BMEA and GTEA: Lodging is double occupancy. We select your roommate for you, unless otherwise noted.
Q: If I am a local/regional student, do I still get lodging?
Lodging is provided through our sponsors for out of area participants only. UCD/Sac students do not receive lodging.
Q. What days are we provided lodging?
Lodging is provided Sunday evening through Friday evening. Check out is Saturday morning.
Q. Do I make my own hotel reservations?
If you are attending GTEA, BMEA or FHEA, we have a block of rooms and provide the hotel with your name. You do not make a reservation with the hotel directly.
If you are attending UCEA, you will book your own lodging. Information is provided in the packet sent by your Program Manager.
Q. What if I want a single room?
If you would like a single room, there will be an extra $350 fee due upon registration for a single supplement.
Q. What if I want to pick my own roommate?
If you would like to pick your own roommate, please contact the Program Manager and let the PM know with whom you want to lodge. You must let the PM know two weeks in advance.
Q. What if I need to arrive earlier or stay later?
If you need to arrive earlier or check out a day later, contact the hotel directly to request an additional room night.
Q. Where are the hotels?
We use two different hotels, depending on the time of year. Please review the info sent from your PM. The two hotels are:
Hyatt Place UC Davis
173 Old Davis Road Extension
Davis, CA 95616
Ph: 530.756-9500
Website >>
Maps & Directions >>
Hallmark Inn Davis
110 F Street
Davis CA 95616
Website >>
**Your hotel location will be sent to you a week before the academy.
Q: What about transportation to the academy site?
Students are responsible for all of the transportation costs associated with traveling to and from their home location to the academy.
SHUTTLE SERVICE
The Davis Airporter provides door-to-door service from the airport to the Hyatt Place and Hallmark Inn for $23/person one way. For more information, go to www.davisairporter.com or 530.758.6715.
Q: What about transportation during the academy?
Both hotels are within walking distance to the UC Davis Conference Center and Downtown Davis.
Q. Which meals are covered by the academy cost?
- We provide lunch Monday – Friday.
- We provide dinner Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
- Coffee, tea and drinks are provided at snack breaks.
- You are responsible for breakfast, Monday and Friday dinners.
Q: What is the dress code?
The dress code for the Academy, including Wednesday’s Gala Dinner, is business casual.
Q. What is the Gala Dinner?
The gala dinner is a networking opportunity on Wednesday evening during the academy. Invited sponsors, industry executives, entrepreneurs and investors attend the event, along with the academy participants. It is a wonderful chance to talk with the other participants and meet invited guests working in the business and investment community.
Q. Can I invite someone to attend the dinner with me?
No, the Gala dinner is invite only, for participants and invited business and investment community guests.
Q: What is expected of the participants?
As a participant at the academy, you are expected to attend all sessions, including mentoring sessions and working group sessions. You are also expected to be an active participant on your team, which will be chosen for you.
Q. What if I have to miss a session?
We do not encourage missing any sessions. Your final presentation will be affected if you miss presentations. If you miss a session, notify your Program Manager.
Q: Do we choose our teams?
- If you are coming with a team, you will work with that team.
- For those not coming with a team, we will place you on a team Monday morning.
- The teams are formed based on similar interests/research.
- You can move teams through Tuesday end of day, once you have met the other participants and have a sense of their ideas/research.
- After Tuesday evenings, teams remain the same through Friday.
Q. What if I want to move to a different team?
Monday and Tuesday we allow you to move teams, as you get to know your participants and see if there is someone with a research topic that fits your needs. After Tuesday evening, we do not allow team movement as you will need to work together toward your final presentation?
Q. What happens during the week?
Throughout the week, you will work through evaluating your idea from the business, market and technical perspective. You will do this for your individual idea, within your team of 3-4 people.
Monday, Tuesday and Wedesnday, you will evaluate your individual idea, within your group.
On Wednesday, your team will decide which member’s idea to pitch for the final presentations on Friday.
Q. How do we decide which idea to pick?
Generally, we encourage teams to pick the idea that seems to have the best commercial viability, at this early stage. By Wednesday, based on the data and information you’ve gathered on your individual ideas, you will have a better sense of which ideas might work and which might not.
Q. What if we can’t decide which idea to pick?
If you have two ideas between which your team cannot decide, check in with Wil Agatstein, Exec. Director, during the week.
Q. Why can’t everyone pitch their idea?
The process of the week is designed to teach you how to think about your idea and how to evaluate whether it is worth pursuing, or not. By narrowing down your groups 3-4 ideas to one, you are working through the same process you will need to do as you move forward in evaluating the market applicability of your research.
Learning to evaluate which ideas are ready to move forward is a skill you will need as an entrepreneur and in your career. The workshop is as much about learning to move your idea forward as it is learning when you shouldn’t move an idea forward.
Q. What is the presentation?
On Friday, your group will pitch your idea to a panel of 4-5 invited investors, entrepreneurs and industry executives. We provide you a template for the pitch, which you receive on Monday. The panelists provide you verbal and written feedback. It is a learning experience and participants all find it highly useful.
Q. How long will the course website remain active?
The course website is available during the week of the course. Please download any presentations or files you wish to save, during that week.
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