UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship Announces First Food and Health Entrepreneurship Academy

Unilever Corporate Ventures and PepsiCo. Named Founding Sponsors

DAVIS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of California, Davis, today announced the details of the inaugural Food and Health Entrepreneurship Academy, to be held February 23 – 27, 2009, at the Buehler Alumni and Visitor Center on campus. Co-presented by the UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship and the Foods for Health Institute, the academy is designed for researchers in fields related to foods, nutrition and human health.

Graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and research faculty who want to learn how to analyze, enhance and communicate the broader potential impact of their research, explore business opportunities and build the skill set for a career in industry are invited to attend this five-day meeting.

Applications are due by January 9, 2009, and are available at http://entrepreneurship.ucdavis.edu/health.php.

All accepted university participants receive scholarships to cover the program’s tuition, materials, and lodging. The academy also is open to early-stage entrepreneurs on a space-available basis at an extended education rate.

The founding sponsors of the academy are Unilever Corporate Ventures and PepsiCo. “A key component of our strong commitment to open innovation is the skills, culture and competencies that we need in our organization to foster strong entrepreneurship and creative drive,” said Phil Giesler, innovation director at Unilever Corporate Ventures. “Our vitality mission also makes the Food and Health initiative highly relevant for us.”

The five-day academy includes sessions on networking, intellectual property, market and business validation, elevator pitches, development strategies, and the logistics of building a team and establishing an organization. Participants work with mentors from the venture and business community to develop their group presentations. A keynote networking dinner is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, for participants, industry executives, guest faculty and mentors.

“The Food and Health Entrepreneurship Academy provides a ground-breaking platform for researchers in the fields of foods for health, nutrition and wellness to move their ideas out of the lab and into the world's markets, where they can directly address the global issues we're facing today,” said Associate Professor Andrew Hargadon, faculty director for the Center for Entrepreneurship at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.

For more information:

http://entrepreneurship.ucdavis.edu

For sponsorship opportunities:

Wil Agatsein

Executive Director, UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship

wagatstein@ucdavis