University Partner Consortium
KIC’s University Partner Consortium aims to connect Pennsylvania higher education and research institutions into a shared entrepreneurial resources hub and commercialization network. KIC helps to bring the wider tech startup and business support community onto our University Partner campuses, as well as to make deal sourcing easier for PA investors.
The University Partner Consortium’s goal is to increase visibility for university-generated innovations and to facilitate strategic engagements between institutions, founders, and the surrounding venture ecosystem.
Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University is an active member of the Keystone Innovation Collaborative’s University Consortium. The Invent Penn State LaunchBox & Innovation Network delivers a variety of high quality free program resources and support to early stage entrepreneurs across 19 different statewide offices. Critically, these LaunchBox services are made freely available to all Pennsylvania entrepreneurs, not just Penn State alumni or individuals associated with the university.
Harrisburg University
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is an active member of the Keystone Innovation Collaborative’s University Consortium. The university’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) provides entrepreneurial education and startup support. Beyond its launchU startup competition for students and faculty, the CIE opens its incubator and its network of investors, advisors, and business owners to startups across Pennsylvania and beyond, not just those affiliated with the university.
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh is an active member of the Keystone Innovation Collaborative’s University Consortium. Part of Pitt’s Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence has supported startups, small businesses, and family-owned companies throughout western Pennsylvania for more than 30 years. Through its Small Business Development Center and events throughout the year, the IEE offers confidential consulting, education, and networking to business owners across the region, not just those affiliated with the university.
Messiah University
Messiah University is an active member of the Keystone Innovation Collaborative’s University Consortium. Messiah’s Center for Entrepreneurship builds students’ entrepreneurial skills through hands-on ventures, including an on-campus Innovation Lab where students collaborate with faculty and local business professionals, mentorship from an entrepreneur-in-residence, and the Impact Venture Challenge competition. The center has a distinctive focus on social impact, encouraging students to use business as a tool to serve their communities and beyond.
Shippensburg University
Shippensburg University is an active member of the Keystone Innovation Collaborative’s University Consortium. The Charles H. Diller Jr. Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation mentors student entrepreneurs via staff and faculty, as well as via the in-house Shippensburg University SBDC, offering signature programs like the Ship Tank pitch competition, the Milton K. Morgan III Makerspace for prototyping, and sponsored opportunities for founders to showcase their work and reach broader audiences through national and international entrepreneurship programs.
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is an active member of the Keystone Innovation Collaborative’s University Consortium. Inspired by founder Benjamin Franklin’s entrepreneurial legacy, Entrepreneurship at F&M offers students courses, a semester-long F&M Incubator, paid summer internships with startups, and a Demo Day where student founders pitch for seed funding. F&M is also launching a new Venture and Impact Studio to bring entrepreneurial skill-building across its curriculum and campus.