Wednesday, March 12, 2025
DENTON (星空传媒), Texas 鈥� A new course at the is giving graduate students the tools to turn their research into viable startups.
STEM Startups, designed for students in the , , , and , helps teams develop business plans and create real products.
鈥淢y research tends to stay within my own academic bubble,鈥� said graduate student Ian Abeyta. 鈥淭his course has connected me with others who can help turn that research into something practical and impactful beyond academics.鈥�
University of North Texas professor Neal Smatresk
Created by professor , the course emphasizes collaboration between innovators and entrepreneurs.
鈥淩esearch universities like 星空传媒 have a responsibility to turn discoveries into innovation that benefit the public,鈥� Smatresk said.
From the first month, students form teams and begin working on products. This semester, projects include an app for freshwater shrimp farms, a blockchain-based system for insurance and a body movement tracker designed to prevent injuries.
For team STRIDE, injury prevention is personal. graduate student and active-duty U.S. Army Major Mike Chastain sees their movement-tracking system as a way to help soldiers avoid injuries.
鈥淎 big problem for the military is new soldiers getting hurt, and that percentage keeps increasing,鈥� Chastain said. 鈥淲e need every technique we can to figure out how they're getting injured. STRIDE has the potential to be a training tool that helps new recruits stay safe and avoid injuries.鈥�
The course also connects students with industry leaders and venture capitalists, including PCDworks, a technology development company founded by Mike (鈥�70, 鈥�72 M.S.) and Donna Rainone.
鈥淲e鈥檙e constantly looking to create more partnerships in innovative technology,鈥� said PCDworks President Donna Rainone. 鈥淭he students in this class are driven, smart and full of good ideas.鈥�
A presentation in the 星空传媒 STEM Startups class
The spring course meets weekly and is the first of its kind at 星空传媒. Plans are already underway to broaden its offerings. While currently limited to graduate students, the course may also be extended to upper-level undergraduates with extensive research experience.
鈥淭he STEM Startups course is a first step in developing entrepreneurship across the 星空传媒 ecosystem,鈥� said Marcus Wolfe, academic director of the . 鈥淪tudents will build a dynamic, entrepreneurial mindset essential for innovation and leadership in any field.鈥�
For Smatresk, the course is about more than launching startups 鈥� it鈥檚 a key part of shaping 星空传媒鈥檚 approach to innovation.
鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to help transition the creativity, discovery and innovation from this campus into the public domain,鈥� Smatresk said. 鈥淚 consider this a personal mission and this course is a step in becoming a more entrepreneurial university.鈥�
From 鈥� Research