UMSL Accelerate is the innovation and entrepreneurial resource for students, faculty and the community. Our vision is to serve as a catalyst for developing our students, faculty and community to inspire entrepreneurship and innovation. Our mission is to foster a community of thought leaders by providing a vibrant ecosystem to Educate (curriculum), Innovate (co-curriculum), and Collaborate (community programming).
Educate – We offer advanced curriculum, expertise, mentorship, and experiences. Our evolving curriculum focuses on design thinking and innovation systems to develop insightful leaders with skills to bring ideas to market, start and grow new endeavors and solve problems creatively. Currently, we offer six innovation & entrepreneurship courses, an interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate, and will offer an undergraduate major in spring 2019.
Innovate - We inspire a culture of innovation and support groundbreaking research. Our co-curricular activities are designed to encourage students, faculty and community engagement to the region's growing ecosystem of entrepreneurial resources, focusing on real world applications, training and opportunities. Innovate programs include EC@UMSL, Entrepreneur in Residence, Entrepreneur Legal Clinic @UMSL, and Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization.
Collaborate – It’s a crowded ecosystem, how do we differentiate? By doing first of its kind, next generation, new model thinking. Our “Powered By” University driven Accelerators are the first of its kind. As a paid intern, we offer work with startups in the cortex district. Learn by doing. Our first "Powered By" accelerator is Ameren Accelerator. Every year, this accelerator runs boot camp with a cohort of of startups with promising solutions in clean energy. To learn more, visit amerenaccelerator.com.