Three New University Partners Bring More Student Startups into KIC's Statewide Network
Shippensburg, Messiah, and F&M join Keystone Innovation Collaborative's statewide network of entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate partners
The Keystone Innovation Collaborative (KIC), a statewide nonprofit that connects Pennsylvania's universities, founders, investors, and corporate innovation partners, is announcing formal University Partnerships with Shippensburg University, Messiah University, and Franklin & Marshall College. The partnerships give student innovators and founders at all three campuses a direct path to investors, corporate partners, and entrepreneurial peers and mentors across the Commonwealth, while giving KIC's statewide network earlier visibility into the startups taking shape on Central Pennsylvania campuses.
Each new partner brings an established entrepreneurship program to the network:
Shippensburg University. The Charles H. Diller Jr. Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation mentors students, faculty, and staff through programs such as the Ship Tank pitch competition and the Milton K. Morgan III Makerspace for prototyping.
Messiah University. The Center for Entrepreneurship builds student ventures through its Innovation Lab, an entrepreneur-in-residence, and the Impact Venture Challenge.
Franklin & Marshall College. Entrepreneurship at F&M offers a semester-long incubator, paid summer internships with startups, and a Demo Day where student founders pitch for seed funding.
Joining KIC extends that support beyond each campus, giving student founders a route to a wider group of investors and corporate partners across Pennsylvania that no single institution could offer through its own network alone.
During the first year, KIC will offer each University Partner a tailored mix of campus benefits:
Venture capital, explained. A guest talk for an entrepreneurship class, founder group, or student organization on how venture capital works.
A statewide event on campus. The opportunity to host a Keystone Merge, KIC's monthly community entrepreneur convening series, or a similar startup event.
A front door for student founders. KIC signage and QR-code access in campus entrepreneurial spaces, connecting students to KIC and partner programs across Pennsylvania.
Pitch feedback and judging. Feedback for student founders and KIC judges at campus pitch competitions.
Recognized partner status. Official KIC University Partner recognition, with co-branding and visibility across the statewide network.
KIC's University Partner model is designed to turn campus innovation into investment. KIC's statewide platform aggregates deal flow from partner campuses so that university-affiliated founders gain broader visibility and faster access to capital. As the network grows, each partner campus adds founders, ideas, and connections that benefit the others, building a Pennsylvania where one breakthrough fuels the next.
About Keystone Innovation Collaborative Keystone Innovation Collaborative (KIC) is a Pennsylvania 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in York, PA that connects founders, universities, investors, and corporate partners through a coordinated statewide network. Its mission is to ensure that ideas and capital flow freely across the Commonwealth. Learn more at keystoneinnovate.com.
