Summer is officially over in Austin and I’m fresh from my trip to visit family in Australia but we haven’t slowed down. Read what we’ve been up to this past summer and what’s ahead in Fall.
KEEP US GROWING
We doubled our social media following and website visits since the start of this year. Check us out by the numbers:
5,800+ visitors through our website
300+ followers on social media
700+ subscribers from email
900+ attendees at hosted and sponsored events
We love the support and you can continue to share and support Capital City Innovation and Austin’s Innovation District on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
ACROSS THE DISTRICT
Earlier this summer I was invited to speak at the Metropolitan Breakfast Club about the progress of Austin’s Innovation District. You can watch the live recording of my presentation on our site and I highly encourage you to check out the other speakers lined up by the club.
And have you heard of Waterloo Park? It’s just a short walk over from Dell Medical School and it’s set to open in 2020. It is going to be the largest downtown park on Waller Creek and a vibrant center for community activity. Peter Mullan, Chief Executive Officer of Waller Creek Conservancy gave us the latest updates a few weeks ago also at the breakfast club.
Just adjacent to the park, is Central Health’s former Brackenridge campus. We often get asked for updates about the space so we rounded up the latest news. This key location is the starting point for Austin’s Innovation District – and we’re very excited about recent progress. Read about some recent developments and keep up with us to learn about what’s ahead.
Benchmarking
My colleague, and CCI’s Program and Communications Manager, will be attending an Atlanta trip organized by the Austin Chamber next month, and we’re looking forward to bringing back lots of ideas. Atlanta’s Tech Square has been a reference for our own district’s development and in 2017, the Downtown Austin Alliance led a group of local leaders there on a benchmarking visit. These delegations provide important ways to learn from others doing similar work. And they work both ways!
Recently, we met with the Nashville area chamber of commerce which is planning on benchmarking Austin in April of 2019. People are interested in how we are building Austin’s Innovation District and we are interested in learning and sharing from others as well!
A Gateway for Innovation
Central Texas and Austin are increasingly being noticed by overseas health and life science companies.
On July 18th, we joined the City of Austin’s Global Expansion Division and the French Honorary Consulate in Austin to host a delegation from the City of Angers, France. Both a sister city, and a municipal partner city to Austin, the delegation was interested in how health tech and health innovation businesses might partner. They also got a tour of the Texas Health CoLab at Dell Medical School.
Keeping on the French theme, we were delighted to meet with Alain Mermet, Science and Technology Attache at the French Consulate General in Houston during his recent visit to Texas State University’s STAR Park in San Marcos, along with representatives from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Greater San Marcos Partnership. These regional relationships are important in promoting our region and innovation district across the globe.
These relationships work. The Association of British Health Industries has identified Austin and Central Texas as a preferred gateway for British health companies and have helped to land a number of companies at Dell Med’s CoLab. And the Australian Consulate in Houston has been actively promoting Austin to companies Down Under. Read their description here. We can’t wait for some of these Aussie companies to visit so we can show them what real BBQ is!
Know a company that might like to get involved in Austin’s Innovation District?
Open Data Meetup with Dell Med
Last week the City of Austin hosted its monthly Open Data Meetup at Dell Medical School. We’re enthusiastic at the prospect of collaboration between the City and school on using and extending the City of Austin’s Open Data Portal.
Open data is fuel for civic innovation and insight. Sharing and using data can help make us a smarter and more collaborative city. We’re excited for the follow up and say hello if you see us at one of the upcoming meetups. Get a synopsis of the event.
NETWORK NEWS
The latest from some of our partners across central Texas.
ACC Bioscience Incubator
ACC Bioscience Incubator member company, Environmental Quality Operations (EQO), won the $100,000 Diamond Award from MassChallenge TX as part of the accelerator's inaugural cohort. This was MassChallenge TX's top prize, with EQO being selected out of 84-startups from around the world. EQO uses cancer technology for environmental problems like invasive water species eradication, and has been utilizing the resources and expertise at the Bioscience Incubator to grow the company.
Miss the Mass Challenge Showcase? Check out some choice tweets from that evening’s event.
Austin Technology Incubator
ATI was recently covered by the Austin American Statesman’s. Read up on how they’re “doubling down on deep tech” in Austin's startup scene.
Texas Health CoLab
Texas Health Co-Lab hosted its August edition of the monthly learning series. This one covered angel investing with John Paulos from Central Texas Angel Network.
Verena Kallhoff, manager of the Workspaces @ Texas Health CoLab. John Paulos presents to attendees.
Miss out? The next one is scheduled for Thursday, September 20th. And last time we headed over to a post event happy hour at Scholz Garten. September's topic is conducting enterprise sales within the healthcare system. RSVP for the in-person event OR check out one of the live streamed locations at ACC Bioscience incubator and Temple Health & Bioscience District.
Texas Health Catalyst Program
The Texas Health Catalyst Program is still going strong with finalist teams currently receiving consultations from investors and industry experts for specific feedback. Get an overview of the programs journey in their latest blog post.
EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
J-Labs in ATX
Capital City Innovation and Austin Tech Alliance are jointly hosting a Johnson & Johnson Innovation J-Labs event. You don’t want to miss the opportunity to network with these global innovators. Save the date for Monday, October 8th and keep an eye out for ticket information in the coming days.
Austin Design Week
The 3rd annual Austin Design Week is around the corner. I’ll be participating in panel on Thursday, November 8th from 10:00-11:00am. The deadline for application is closed this year but mark your calendar to apply for the next Austin Design Week. Design topics range from digital, fashion, civic, and beyond.
Keep an eye on the ADW website for the full calendar of events and details for this year.
SXSW Opportunity & Save the Date
SXSW might feel like it’s a long way off but the application deadline for their innovation award is looming. There’s still time to register under their health, med, & biotech category though. Applications are accepted through October 4th.
We also submitted an idea to the PanelPicker. Voting closed recently but our fingers are crossed that we get in. Either way, be sure to save the date for March 11th. We’re hosting an afternoon/evening for Austin’s innovators AGAIN in 2019. If you joined us last we time hope you can stop by next year.
UPCOMING EVENTS
There are several upcoming events from our partners and across the community!
Christopher Laing, MRCVS, PhD
Executive Director, Capital City Innovation
As Executive Director of Capital City Innovation, Chris leads an organization that is coordinating the stakeholders of the innovation district emerging around Austin’s new health complex. Previously, Chris was a member of the senior management team of Philadelphia’s University City Science Center, the country’s oldest and largest urban innovation hub.
Follow Chris on Twitter @chrislaing
