2009 GCEC Conference Schedule

Rice University, Houston Texas
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management
Thursday, October 15 to Saturday, October 17, 2009

Conference Notes:

  1. Attendees should plan their flights to arrive in Houston by about 3:30 pm on Thursday. The conference will kick-off with a reception and program at 5:30 pm on Thursday. Attendees should plan their return flights on Sunday morning, October 18, 2009.
  2. The conference will conclude with the awards banquet on Saturday night, October 17
  3. All events will be held at the Jones Graduate School of Management (McNair Hall), except the dinners on Friday and Saturday.

To view a full agenda in PDF format, please click here.

Full Conference Agenda 

Thursday, October 15

9:00 am – Conference Registration Opens
9:00 am to 3:30 pm – Travel to Houston, Texas (arrive by 3:30 pm)
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm – GCEC Executive Council Meeting (Dean’s Board Room)
5:30 pm to 6:30 pm – Networking Reception and Registration
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm – Conference Program/Special Event
- Special Opening Keynote Speaker
9:00 pm to Midnight – Hospitality Suite Open – Marriott Hotel (Attendance optional)

Friday, October 16

8:00 am to 8:30 am – Continental Breakfast
8:30 am to 9:30 am – Plenary Session – Friday Opening Keynote Speaker
9:30 am to Noon – Breakout #1: Panel/Breakout Sessions (4-5 concurrent sessions)
10:45 am to Noon – Breakout #2: Panel/Breakout Sessions (4-5 concurrent sessions)
Noon to 1:00 pm – Lunch
1:00 to 2:15 pm – Breakout #3: Panel/Breakout Sessions (4-5 concurrent sessions)
2:45 to 4:00 pm – Breakout #4: Panel/ Breakout Sessions (4-5 concurrent sessions)
4:00 to 5:00 pm – Plenary Session - Friday Closing Keynote Speaker
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm – Dinner (all attendees) – NASA Space Center Houston (bus transportation provided)
9:00 pm to Midnight – Hospitality Suite Open - Marriott Hotel (Attendance optional)

Saturday, October 17

8:00 am to 8:30 am – Continental Breakfast
8:30 am to 9:30 am – Plenary Session - Saturday Opening Keynote Speaker
9:30 am to Noon – Breakout #5: Panel/Breakout Sessions (4-5 concurrent sessions)
10:45 am to Noon – Breakout #6: Panel/Breakout Sessions (4-5 concurrent sessions)
Noon to 1:00 pm – Lunch
1:00 to 2:15 pm – Breakout #7: Panel/Breakout Sessions (4-5 concurrent sessions)
2:15 to 3:45 pm – Plenary Session - Saturday Closing Keynote Speaker
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm – Awards Dinner (all attendees) – Downtown Aquarium (transportation provided)
9:00 pm to Midnight – Hospitality Suite Open - Marriott Hotel (Attendance optional)

Sunday, October 18 – No events; Attendees Travel Back Home

Conference Tracks

Track 1 (T1):  Curriculum Design and Student Programming

1.  Building a World-class Entrepreneurship Curriculum 
2.  Unique Innovative E-Programs Having a Life Altering Impact on Students   
3.  Technology in the Classroom:  Using Technology to Improve Entrepreneurship Education and Student Engagement 
4.  Model Student Programs at both the Undergraduate and Graduate Level   
5.  Experiential Education:  What’s New?  What’s Most Effective? 
6.  Measuring the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Courses and Programs 
7.  Applied Approaches:  Building Skills to Recognize and Evaluate Entrepreneurial Opportunities 

 Track 2 (T2):  Center Funding, Operations, and Structure 

1. Funding: Innovative Ways to Generate Revenue for Your Entrepreneurship Program 
2.  Philanthropy: How to Increase Individual Philanthropic Giving to Your Center 
3.  Coleman Foundation:  Priorities for Coleman Foundation Grants  
4.  National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA): Grants & Programs  
5.  New and Emerging Entrepreneurship Centers – Issues and Challenges:  Lessons Learned
6.  Measuring Success for both Internal and External Stakeholders
7.  Building a Successful Entrepreneurship Program at a Smaller School:  Challenges and Opportunities
8. Center Operations:  Secrets to Great Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Staffing, --- or --- How to Do it All (Well) with Limited Staff and Resources!

Track 3 (T3):  Center Outreach, Community Impact, and Marketing/PR

1.  Sustainability and Clean Tech – university programs making an impact 
2.  Social Enterprise – how entrepreneurship programs are making a difference in underdeveloped countries 
3.  Women and Entrepreneurship:  Encouraging Women to Start Scalable, Venture Capital-Fundable Companies 
4.  HBCU’s:   how the Historically Black Colleges and Universities are creating entrepreneurs among their students 
5.  Developing a Broad Entrepreneurial Network for Your Center:  Effectively using Advisory Boards, Speaker Programs, Networking Events, and Other Activities     
6.  Tips on Attracting the Attention of Regional and National Media Attention for Your Entrepreneurship Programs  (Media Panel: Fortune/CNN,  NY Times, Bloomberg, Chronicle of Higher Education, Houston Chronicle, BusinessMakers Radio Show).   
7.  Promoting Your Center:  Creative Ways to Gain Exposure 
8.  Tweeting, Blogging, and Social Networking:  what you should be using NOW! 
9.  Role of Centers in Inner City, Low Income, and At Risk Communities 

Track 4 (T4):  Entrepreneurship Across Campus / Across Institutions

1. Building Global Entrepreneurship Programs & Global Collaborations  
2. Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts: Taking Entrepreneurship Beyond the Halls of Business, Engineering and Science   
3. Life Science Entrepreneurship:  connecting biomedical engineering, medical centers, and entrepreneurship
4. Accelerating Innovation: examples of entrepreneurship program collaborations with engineers and scientists, especially biomedical engineering 
5. Regional Economic Development:  Successful Models for Universities s Catalysts for Regional Economic Growth 
6. Entrepreneurship on Campus:  the Hot Growth area?   Taking a leadership role in building entrepreneurship programs throughout a campus    
7. Alliances and Strategic Partnerships Across Institutions – models for effective collaboration 

Track 5 (T5): Tech Commercialization and New Venture Creation 

1.  How Really to Engage Seed-Stage and Early-Stage Venture Capitalists in University Spin-outs:  View from Venture Capitalists:  DFJ Mercury 
2.  Masters Programs in Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization 
3.  Linking Technology Transfer, Engineering, Science and Entrepreneurship to Foster New Venture Creation 
4.  Business Plan Competitions as a New Venture Catalyst – What’s New in Competitions 
5.  Incubators:  what’s working…what are the challenges?  Should you start one? 
6.  University Venture Funds and Grant Programs 
7.  Student Start-ups:  Model Programs that Encourage Successful Student Start-ups 
8.  Venture Labs:  Models for Working with Faculty and Technology Transfer Offices to Launch Start-ups from University Research 

Host Hotels:

  1. Primary Hotel: Marriott Medical Center, 6580 Fannin Street - $119 per night (across the street from campus)
  2. Backup Hotel: Hilton Plaza/Medical Center, 6633 Travis Street - $149 per night (2 blocks from campus)

Airports: