2024 Finalists

Awards of Excellence Finalists

Congratulations to the 2024 UEDA Awards of Excellence Finalists. Leading initiatives from across North America compete in a six-month process, including application, peer review, online presentations, and, ultimately, selection by attendees of the annual UEDA Summit as category leaders. These projects represent the top university-based economic development initiatives in the country, as judged by their peers.

Talent

Talent includes the spectrum of knowledge transfer activities by which universities educate people, developing human capital for the 21st century Knowledge Economy. This category includes life-long learning, both degree and non-degree programs, experiential education and discovery-based learning programs, active alignment of curricula to industry needs, etc.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing

The University of Kentucky – CATEGORY LEADER

#WhatsYourStartDate: A Career Center’s Strategic Scaling Strategies to Take Gen-Z from Backpack to Briefcase

South Bend – Elkhart Regional Partnership + enFocus

From the Classroom to the Board Room: Collaboration for Today’s Intern

Innovation

Innovation begins with basic research, but then builds on knowledge creation to encompass knowledge transfer and application in ways that are useful and relevant to society. This category encompasses basic research; applied, translational, problem-oriented, and industry-contracted R&D; cooperative extension services; technology transfer; etc.

Place

Place is defined as the many and diverse ways in which institutions contribute to making attractive, competitive communities—places where people want to live, create and take jobs, raise their families, participate in civic life, and age and retire. Competitive, successful communities and regions are attentive to the health, education, environment, housing, safety, and entertainment needs of community members. Campuses and sites like research parks are components of place-making, but the focus of this definition is broader, on communities, or even on regions.

Tech Parks Arizona / University of Arizona Center for Innovation

University of Arizona Center for Innovation Sponsored Launch

University of Michigan Economic Growth Institute

Energy Transition Impact Project (ETIP)

University of North Carolina Wilmington – CATEGORY LEADER

Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency — Turning knowledge to action

University of Texas at Arlington

Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs)

Engaged University

This category recognizes initiatives that demonstrate excellence in linking all three legacy award categories. Projects included successfully engage multiple community partners to link, leverage and connect efforts in Talent, Innovation, and Place.

East Carolina University

Engage Eastern North Carolina (EngageENC)

Tennessee Technological University

Harnessing University Expertise: Fostering Sustainable Rural Tourism Economies

University of Alaska Anchorage Business Enterprise Institute

The Emerging Energy Market Analysis Initiative

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – CATEGORY LEADER

eBridge – Center for Business and Commercialization

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

This category recognizes projects that demonstrate excellence in fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in a community. Projects in this category attempt to make their communities more equitable by creating opportunities for historically underserved populations, including but not limited to communities of color, unemployed and underemployed workers, persons with disabilities, individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, veterans and military spouses, and other groups facing labor market barriers.