Location: Tennessee State University, 3500 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209

Learn about commercialization grant opportunities, get a look inside Tennessee State University labs, connect with innovators and hear industry leaders pitch challenges to today’s pressing problems.

LaunchTN Annual Public Meeting (9:30 AM – 10:15 AM)
Join LaunchTN at Innovation Week for a critical conversation about Tennessee’s technology future. Delve into the recent RTI report on the state of innovation, explore actionable recommendations for building a stronger ecosystem, and learn more about LaunchTN’s vision for the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium.

Mid-South Innovation-Corps Hub Info Session (10:15 AM – 11:15 AM)
Join Mid-South Innovation Hub Director Charleson Bell to learn more about the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps, an immersive entrepreneurial training program and $50,000-grant for research commercialization. The NSF Mid-South I-Corps Hub is led by Vanderbilt University.

Break (11:15 AM – 11:30 AM)

Tennessee State University I-Corps Innovator Showcase (11:30 AM – noon)
Hear quick pitches from startup innovators through the I-Corps Program Innovator Entrepreneurship Bootcamp on technologies they’ve built.

Call for Innovators: Can You Solve Industry R&D Challenges?  (noon – 12:30 PM)
Hear from leaders at four companies across the Agriculture, Energy, Mobility, and Life Science industries in Tennessee to learn more about their research and development needs and how startups can solve them.

Innovation Expo Exchange & Networking Luncheon (noon – 1:30 PM)
Connect with partners from across the Tennessee innovation ecosystem, including the Mid-South i-Corp Hub, LaunchTN, the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Nashville Mayor’s Office, Corner to Corner, BioTN, TennSmart, AgLaunch, Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council, Project FinTech, Proof Incubator, and more.

*If you’re interested in connecting with TSU students, faculty, and entrepreneurs, complete this application to be considered for a booth at the Innovation Expo.

TSU Lab Tour (1:30 PM – 2:30 PM)
Take a tour of the lab resources at TSU that are available through the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs.

Innovator Reception  (5 – 6 PM)
Faculty innovators in Nashville can connect with startups and entrepreneurship support personnel during this networking happy hour event.