Changing the Game in Tech: University of Kentucky's Inclusive Approach to Entrepreneurship With Serenity Wright
48m | Jan 17, 2024There's more to commercialization than just the impact of technology being transferred. This episode focuses on social innovation in technology and the University of Kentucky's Office of Technology Commercialization's unique approach. It's not just about developing, but also managing entrepreneurship programs with a focus on inclusive innovation. This ensures fair access to training for underrepresented innovators in Kentucky.
I'm joined by Serenity Wright, the Associate Director of Social Innovation at the University. Holding a doctorate in policy, measurement, and evaluation, her rich background includes teaching high school, leading diversity initiatives at Transylvania University, and roles in city government and the Gatton College of Business and Economics. Committed to social equity, she's also involved in various community boards and the Mayoral Commission for Racial Justice and Equity.
In This Episode:
[04:09] Serenity shares how the Social Innovation program is fostering positive change. The positive pennies philosophy.
[08:58] Getting programs and opportunities to people is fostering inclusion. People need to see a clear map on how to get there.
[10:52] How long does it take to get from disclosure to market abstract? How many antiquated policies need to be reviewed or changed? Building an inclusive ecosystem is at the core of everything they do.
[12:34] Serenity talks about programs like UAccel at University of Kentucky that make the social innovation program an "and".
[15:52] Solutions that partners and the faculty are creating are critical to their roles at the unit institution.
[17:46] They also have a community engaged pre seed accelerator. They also bring community-based solutions to their faculty. They partnered with Queer KY with key initiatives about mental and physical health.
[20:08] Being a connector, friendship, and humanity is what the work they are trying to do is about.
[21:09] Some things they have been doing include presentations, tracking press releases, listening, and engaging.
[24:52] Last year, they executed contracts for just under a million dollars in innovation.
[29:36] The University's Quality Enhancement plan is grounded in translational education knowledge and bringing faculty to work together in the community.
[33:00] The social Innovation team also presents at AUTM.
[36:40] The sustaining piece is about infrastructure and working with leadership.
[40:56] Serenity talks about metrics and the many things they track and measure. Impact metrics also tell them what people need.
[44:30] Relationships and being engaged have a lot to do with understanding the impact and the data.
[45:33] Serenity shares some of their bigger wins including patents and proof of concept funding.
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