Rice University Entrepreneurship Offerings

The Office of Innovation mission is to be a catalyst for innovation, discovery, and creativity by fostering an environment of academic excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, and entrepreneurial spirit.

The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie)'s mission is to equip Rice students with both entrepreneurial skills and the entrepreneurial mindset to prepare them to be entrepreneurs and innovators in whatever industry they choose, be it a technology startup, government, civic group, non-profit, small business, or large corporation. Lilie is comprised of experiential courses, co-curricular opportunities, a state-of-the-art on-campus lab space, and an array of resources to support student learning.

The Entrepreneurship Association is dedicated to fostering the innovative entrepreneurial spirit and vision in the Jones School community. Our members have interests in many different areas of new venture creation, from founding or managing a start-up to investing, advising, or serving as a corporate partner. We feel that learning to build and grow sustainable ventures is a crucial aspect of one’s business education, and we strive to provide our members with a lifelong learning and support network to minimize risk and maximize success.

The Ion fosters a community and culture where corporate innovators, academic partners, community partners, startups, and entrepreneurs come together to solve some of the world’s greatest problems. This 266,000-square foot structure is designed to bring Houston’s entrepreneurial, corporate, and academic communities together into collaborative spaces and programs.

Each year, the event gives invited military veterans an opportunity to pitch business ideas to investors and lenders for a chance to raise capital. During the competition, finalists attend workshops geared toward businesses in early stages of development, have the opportunity to perfect their pitch and receive feedback from professionals, network with potential investors and learn from other entrepreneurial success stories. With more than $3.5 million of investment offers extended thus far, it’s the largest veterans-only business competition in the country.

Rice Ventures Discovery is a program in the Fall Semester for future founders – talented engineers, product people, and builders – who are thinking about starting a company one day but haven’t yet gotten started. Rice Ventures is excited by students who are interested in entrepreneurship, even if they don’t yet understand the full breadth and depth of what being part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem means.

The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) at Rice University assists the faculty, staff, and students in commercializing technology created and developed at Rice. In doing so, the OTT strives to contribute to the public good, further economic development in Houston and Texas, and enhance the reputation of Rice University while maintaining a fiduciary responsibility to the university and its faculty, staff, and student body.

The Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) provides a space for undergraduate students majoring in bioengineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, civil and environmental engineering, computational and applied mathematics, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, materials science and nanoengineering, mechanical engineering and statistics to design, prototype and deploy solutions to real-world engineering challenges. To create the full circle of real-world experience that has societal impact, interdisciplinary teams tackle problems proposed by industry and partners in the Texas Medical Center and abroad.

RCEL’s programing enhances a traditional engineering education by providing skills not typically covered in the Rice engineering curriculum. Through a series of curricular and co-curricular learning experiences, RCEL students learn to create and communicate a vision, build a high-performing team, form and execute collaborative plans, and create innovations that endure.

The Rice360 Institute of Global Health Technologies offers innovative undergraduate & graduate programs that engage students to design and implement new technologies to solve real global health challenges. Through the minor, internships, fellowships and Ph.D. programs, these early stage technologies are designed, evaluated, refined, deployed and scaled across the world.

The McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth at the Baker Institute acts as a leading authority for translating academic research into actionable policy analysis and recommendations, with the goal of expanding the local and national economy through private enterprise. Based on its research, the center proposes changes to law and policy to increase the ability of Americans to earn a livelihood, create personal wealth and contribute to the larger economy by owning and growing a small business or innovative startup.