On October 2 (Tue), a joint seminar between UC San Diego and LINK-J was held in Conference Room 1004 of the Nihonbashi Life Science Building. (Main host: UC San Diego; co-host: LINK-J)
This event introduced UC San Diego's Global Entrepreneur Accelerator (GEA) program for university start-ups wanting to enter the American market, also including presentations about several start-ups in the field of biotechnology that have had successful experiences of the program. The aim of the event was to probe whether this GEA program matches the needs of those working with VCs who provide international business expansion support for start-ups as well as practical management guidance for portfolio businesses.
Speakers: Prof. Sujit Dey (Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego; Director of the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur; Director of the Center for Wireless Communications)
Moderator: Miwako Waga (Director of International Outreach, UC San Diego)
UC San Diego's Institute for the Global Entrepreneur Initiative
As many as 400 start-ups see the light of day in San Diego every year. We refer to the environments that support such lively entrepreneurship as innovation ecosystems, and it is in such an environment that the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur (IGE) has provided mentoring to more than 300 teams, contributed to the creation of 80 new companies, and supported 5 acquisitions over the past 15 years (since 2002). San Diego is home to more than 30 incubators and organizations that support start-ups, such as EvoNexus, CONNECT, BIOCOM, J-Labs, and Hera Hub, and the IGE is intimately connected with such organizations as well. The beautiful scenery of San Diego deserves special mention as it attracts a highly educated working force as well as superbly talented mentors who assist the IGE's training programs.
The presentation on the GEA program fascinated many of the participants and we received a large number of questions. Prof. Dey's lecture proceeded with the participants' participation, allowing for an animated exchange of information and opinions.