Innovation HUBs in Texas

Innovation HUBs in Texas - Austin & San Antonio

Virtual Conference Sessions of The Vice-Consulate of Hungary in Houston

Overview:

The Vice-Consulate of Hungary in Houston will invite you to sneak a peek into the most prosperous innovation ecosystem in the United States today - Texas.

When it comes to the best places to start a business or live in the USA, Texas's cities are on the top of the list. This time we will step away from Houston and introduce you Austin and San Antonio.

With a vibrant job market and booming population, Austin's evolution - the Silicon Hills - is persistent, attracting companies like Tesla and even founders of the Silicon Valley like Oracle. San Antonio provides a wealth of opportunities throughout the area through its educated workforce and a business-friendly climate. The two cities have an interlinked business environment, with their unique cultural scent, which makes them stand out from the competition, even in Texas.

In the 9th episode of the Virtual Conference Sessions, you will hear about engaging with Innovation Hubs in these cities. This episode is a must for Hungarian start-ups and innovators thinking about the USA, especially those who are bored with the east and west coast and are looking for something unique.

Agenda:

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

09:00 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST), Texas

04:00 p.m. Central European Time (CET), Hungary

All registered attendees will receive an email which includes important details, updates, and LINK TO JOIN.

Detailed agenda (US CST):

09:00 – 09:05 Welcome remarks by Gábor Markocsány, Consul

09:05 – 09:15 The Austin Innovation Ecosystem – presented by Mr. Chris Schreck Program Manager for the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department

09:15 – 09:25 Engaging with Texas Global, UT Austin - presented by Dr. Sonia Feigenbaum, Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Chief International Officer, The University of Texas at Austin

09:25 – 09:35 Working with EPICenter, San Antonio – Presented by Ms. Kimberly M. Britton, CEO, EPIcenter

09:35 – 09:50 Q&A

Speakers:

Chris Schreck is a Program Manager for the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department, where he works on initiatives to support local business expansion and retention, to facilitate international investment in Austin, and oversees the ATX+ program, which creates entrepreneurial exchanges between Austin and international partners. Chris also leads the Economic Development Department’s specific programming to grow Austin’s local food and circular economy sectors. Prior to his role at the City, Chris was the Director of Regional Programs and Services for the Capital Area Council of Governments, where he supported a wide range of planning activities in the Austin Area.

Chris holds a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Sonia Feigenbaum serves as UT Austin’s inaugural senior vice provost for global engagement and chief international officer. Since her arrival in Spring 2019, Dr. Feigenbaum has collaborated with colleagues across campus to reposition global engagement as a driver for UT Austin’s mission to educate, research, and serve. Her career path includes policymaking pertinent to global initiatives spans academia, the nonprofit sector and close to 15 years of service with the federal government where she created administered and managed budgets in excess of $350M.

Dr. Feigenbaum holds an undergraduate degree in music performance (cello) and master’s and doctoral degrees in Spanish from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Kimberly M. Britton has decades of experience leading organizations in the sectors of energy, government, health care, and the arts with emphasis in nonprofits, government relations, land use politics, public and community relations as both a founder and senior leader. Her areas of expertise include energy trends, strategy, visioning, cross-functional teams, negotiation and building organizations from the ground up.

Currently, she is the Chief Executive Officer of EPIcenter, a nonprofit created by CPS Energy, OCI Solar, Itron and Landis+Gyr. EPIcenter propels energy innovation and thought for our global future with a think tank, incubator and accelerator, strategic partnerships, and critical conversations around energy. 

In addition to responsibility for the effective administration and fiscal performance of the organization, Britton oversees the rapidly growing array of EPIcenter programs. In addition to a robust and growing thought leadership program, she has led the way to the creation of what is believed to be the nation’s first energy incubator and accelerator with fully virtual programming capability with an accompanying virtual fabrication laboratory. It serves energy-related clients from across the US and internationally.

Increasingly, utilities and other clients engage Britton and EPIcenter to expand their innovation bandwidth, vet emerging technologies and perform focused project work under its business line of advisory services founded by Britton and her team. The organization also benefits greatly from its collaborations with its network of more than 70 strategic partners across the globe.

Britton is currently the co-founder of a new collaboration of public power utilities designed to enable cooperation among the entities and to harness the collective might of public power in the state.

She currently serves as a member of the Denton’s Smart Cities Think Tank and was recently recognized and represented San Antonio in Public Utilities Fortnightly’s list of Smartest Communities 2019. She is a graduate of Texas Christian University

Partners:

The Vice-Consulate of Hungary in Houston

HACCTX - Hungarian-American Chamber of Commerce, Texas

City of Austin

Texas Global - The Univesrity of Texas at Austin

EPIcenter - Energy, Partnership, Innovation