News

Ilia State University hosted the mentorship program reciprocal visit of Karina Sotnik, University of Pennsylvania/UPenn Pennovation Center Expert and CEO of WorldUpStart Company between October 10-15, 2022 within the U.S. - Georgia University Capacity Building Program.

Karina Sotnik is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, and advisor with over a decade of experience creating entrepreneurial ecosystems through innovation programs with significant economic impact. She has extensive experience in academic innovation, incubation, acceleration and global soft-landing programs for startups, universities, and international organizations.

The University Capacity Building Program (UCBP), funded by the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi and administered by American Councils for International Education, is an initiative to foster entrepreneurial culture at Georgia’s higher education institutions, link practical research output to industry, and increase innovation and economic growth. The UCBP program implemented a U.S. study tour in April 2022 that brought a diverse cohort of 12 senior-level university representatives and policymakers from Georgia to the New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Virginia Beach Economic Areas.

The goal of US Expert reciprocal visit to Ilia State University has been to deliver consulting, mentorship, and public seminars at the university with the objective to design a strategy outline (Iliauni Innovation Plan) on moving forward in support of academic, student innovation, and commercialization potential of the university community, services and programs.

Over the week, ISU academic and administrative community (ISU Innovation and Entrepreneurship personnel, Development Office, Faculties, Research Coordination Office, Research Institutes and Centers, ISU Cyber lab ‘UniLab’, Tech Entrepreneurship and Innovations Development Center, and ISU Computing Center), ISU stakeholders (Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA), Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG)) and U.S. expert jointly conducted an investigative review of the existing innovation ecosystem at the university, reviewed the institutional policies and incentives for academic innovation, looked into curriculum for educating angel investors, analyzed the existing university-based process of academic innovation - from disclosure to commercialization and how to re-engineer it to serve the needs of the university, and discussed the ISU design of challenge programs on app and software creation to engage the entire university (students, faculty, and alumni).

2022