Penn State is strengthening western Pennsylvania’s innovation, manufacturing and workforce ecosystem — which includes collaborative research, education, training and production efforts — by aligning the Penn State Digital Foundry and the New Kensington LaunchBox powered by Penn State more directly within its central research and innovation enterprise.

Penn State Startup Week will return March 23–27, offering five days of hands-on workshops, honest conversations, and meaningful networking opportunities for students across all majors.

The Veterans Business Outreach Center at Penn State is establishing partnerships with state correctional institutions across the commonwealth to help build, grow, and enhance entrepreneurial education programming for incarcerated veterans.

Join Penn State’s Small Business Development Center on March 18 for an inside look at Nittany Valley Holistic Health in celebration of National SBDC Day. The center will highlight Nittany Valley Holistic Health, a multi-service, collaborative wellness space supporting whole-person care and small business growth.

Penn State students are encouraged to apply for the Dare to Disrupt Design and Build Challenge — a hands-on, team-based experience for students to turn ideas into real, physical builds using professional prototyping tools at OriginLabs. The application deadline is Thursday, March 12.

Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to watch six student teams compete for cash prizes of up to $15,000 at the Invent Penn State Inc.U pitch competition on Saturday, March 21, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Two Penn State staff members turned to the Penn State Dickinson Law Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic for business and legal advice, which helped transform each of their consulting business ideas into functioning entities. 

The latest episode of Invent Penn State’s “Dare to Disrupt” podcast features Nancy Satur, co-founder and medical director emerita of Curology. Curology is a skincare brand delivering personalized prescription treatments straight to customers’ doorsteps.

David Huff, professor of turfgrass breeding and genetics at Penn State, recently earned the Research Innovator Award through the College of Agricultural Sciences for the research and entrepreneurial leadership that led to the founding of his startup, PennPoa. To launch his turfgrass startup, Huff utilized Penn State entrepreneurial resources. 

Penn State York LaunchBox is hosting a hands-on workshop for area manufacturing leaders on Thursday, Jan. 29.