Region
Central Virginia
Central Virginia is home to the University of Virginia, committed to developing deep and lasting partnerships with industry and research throughout the area.
Darden offers over 35 elective courses in entrepreneurship and innovation, four major entrepreneurial competitions awarding more than $370,000 annually, and an incubator program know as the i.Lab. Graduates are prepared to meet the unique challenges of today's business landscape and to accelerate economic growth through entrepreneurship.
Women engineers at UVA host high school women each year to promote STEM and engineering as an accessible career path. UVA's Society of Women Engineers teaches women the basics of the field and empowers them to explore its possibilities, creating necessary expansion of the engineering and STEM pipelines in Virginia.
Albemarle County, Perrone Robotics, Inc., and Jaunt, Inc. announced a partnership that will develop, test, and operate an autonomous transit shuttle service pilot beginning in March of 2019. UVA will bring expertise to the project, drawing on research capabilities related to autonomous systems and their societal impact as well as technologies for safety and efficiency.
Plans are underway to create ease of connection between UVA's Research Park, CHO, and the Hollymead Town Center to benefit Virginia visitors and businesses. A new vision for the park enhances efforts to draw people together for smoother business collaborations.
The CvilleBioHub invites the biotechnology community to a reception with next generation scientists enrolled in UVA's Biotechnology Training Program. The event will connect UVA researchers and students with biotech companies to enhance collaboration, communication, and recruitment as the region builds out its biotechnology sector.
UVA's Center for Transportation Studies hired its first Safety Circuit Rider Engineer to fully deploy its Safety Circuit Rider Program. The program serves a critical function by helping local governments and agencies improve the safety of their road systems, offering traffic, pedestrian, and transit solutions coupled with guidance around funding opportunities for implementation.
UVA will receive funding to train teams of students and faculty research scientists to inspire effective innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. Teams will be introduced to real-world, hands-on training that helps move ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace.
The Cville Bio Hub partnered with UVA and the City of Charlottesville to secure an $80,000 grant from GO Virginia to promote the growth of the biotechnology industry in the region. A kick-off event with UVA, GO Virginia, the Cville Bio Hub, and Virginia Bio discussed this new initiative and how it will help advance progress in our community.
The CvilleBioHub has been awarded over $80,000 from the GO Virginia initiative to expand and sustain the biotechnology ecosystem in the region. UVA partnered with the CvilleBioHub on this grant because of the project's alignment with an economic development goal: to support innovation and emerging industry clusters in Central Virginia.
UVA hosted the World Masters Squash Championships, bringing over 1,000 visitors to Charlottesville and generating a total economic impact between $750,000 and $1 million in Central Virginia.
UVA supports development of new entrepreneurs and fosters an entrepreneurial ecosystem in our region. After incubation in the i.Lab and a successful company launch, Tsampa Tsnacks now stocks product within the local small business community.
The UVA Research Park is a 562-acre park that provides state-of-the-art facilities to develop the creation and enhancement of research and business collaboration between the University and the public and private sectors — all for the economic and social benefit of Virginia and beyond.