The UT Dallas Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), based in the Jindal School, recently earned a top award from the Richardson Chamber of Commerce at an annual event recognizing economic contributions to the city.
IIE brought home the EDGE Award — EDGE is an acronym for economic development, growth and expansion — for entrepreneurship. Presented by the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and the Richardson Rotary Clubs, the awards recognize “Richardson companies and organizations that have achieved extraordinary success and/or made significant investments in Richardson.”
This was the third year in a row UT Dallas has received an EDGE Award. The ATEC program (now school), won in . Last year, the University, along with its co-developers Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and Wynne/Jackson, earned an award in the Commercial Real Estate category for the $54 million Northside development.
IIE Executive Director Jeremy Vickers accepted the entrepreneurship award on behalf of UT Dallas at the EDGE Awards luncheon Nov. 10 at the Hyatt Regency North Dallas.
“They’re looking for candidates that embody the idea of local economic development through entrepreneurship,” Vickers said. “We do that through engaging students and, to some degree, faculty and alumni. We have quite a few alumni still in the Richardson area that are still growing businesses they started while they were students” at UT Dallas.
Vickers said that the award symbolizes the hard work of the team and the success of the students who go through the process. He also emphasized the importance of the ties that the IIE has cultivated and maintains with the community.
“We are deeply involved with the community,” he said. “We leverage the experience of local entrepreneurs who are mentors for our [student, alumni, faculty and staff] companies. We directly contribute to the economy through entrepreneurs who graduate from our programs. They create products and services, they create jobs, they’re involved with schools — we’re very involved with the community through a networking standpoint. Without UT Dallas, I think Richardson would be a very different community.”
“We hope to see UT Dallas [spinoffs] that will grow in our community,” Bill Sproull, president and CEO of the Richardson Chamber since 2004, said.
EDGE is an initiative of the Richardson Economic Development Partnership (REDP), which each year, along with the Richardson Rotary and Richardson East Rotary Clubs. REDP is a joint effort between the City of Richardson and the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. Awards are presented in nine categories.
