The National Science Foundation (NSF) has officially approved The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) as a partner institution in the Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Hub Southwest Region. This landmark addition makes UT Dallas, the top ranked public university in North Texas, the first institution in the region to join the Hub. This expansion introduces the nation’s premier entrepreneurial training program for researchers to the North Texas region.
Led by The University of Texas at Austin, the Southwest Hub is a collaborative network of elite research institutions. UT Dallas joins a distinguished roster including Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University, New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State University, Rice University, Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at El Paso, and The University of Texas San Antonio.
The I-Corps program is designed to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact. By providing an immersive entrepreneurial experience, the program prepares scientists and engineers to move their innovations beyond the laboratory and toward successful commercialization.
The program arrives at a time of significant growth for the University. Over the past three years, 489 startups have been incorporated through the UT Dallas ecosystem. By bringing I-Corps programming to campus and sharing these resources with other North Texas universities, UT Dallas will continue to build on this momentum.
According to the National Science Foundation, the I-Corps program has a significant track record of success. Since its inception in 2012, more than 2,500 teams have participated in the program. Nearly 1,400 of those teams have launched startups that have cumulatively raised 3.16 billion dollars in subsequent funding.
“The University of Texas at Dallas is honored to partner with the Southwest Hub to enhance the entrepreneurial spirit in North Texas,” said DeMia Keppel, Associate Director and Program Manager at UT Dallas. “With a student body of over 30,000 students and a thriving research community, we are uniquely positioned to translate complex technologies into economic drivers.”
UT Dallas is scheduled to begin hosting its inaugural I-Corps cohorts in Fall 2026. For more information about the I-Corps program at UT Dallas or to learn how to participate in upcoming cohorts, please contact DeMia Keppel at demia.keppel@utdallas.edu.
About The University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas is a top tier public research university located in the heart of one of the nation’s fastest growing high-tech regions. In Fall 2025, the University enrolled over 30,000 students, including 4,933 freshmen and 176 National Merit Scholars. With a population that is 76 percent undergraduate and 24 percent graduate, UT Dallas serves as a significant catalyst for regional economic and social development.
About the NSF I-Corps Hub Southwest
The Southwest Hub is part of a national network of NSF funded hubs that provide experiential entrepreneurial training to academic researchers. The Hub leverages the expertise of its member institutions to support the commercialization of deep tech innovations across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
