UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed $2.35 million in new funding for Invent Penn State as part of the University's 2022-23 state appropriation. Watch as Sydney Gibbard, a Penn State biomedical engineering major from Yardley, Pennsylvania, explains how Invent Penn State has helped to grow her nonprofit, Girls Code the World.
"I'm really hoping to expand Girls Code the World — to continue hiring people from communities across the commonwealth and continue delivering STEM education programs for students all across Pennsylvania," said Gibbard. "A lot of the funding, support and structure that we have for Girls Code the World all came from Invent Penn State."
Invent Penn State is a commonwealth-wide initiative with a network of 21 LaunchBoxes and innovation hubs embedded in Penn State Commonwealth Campus communities. The innovation hubs are designed to be accessible — 96% of Pennsylvanians live within 30 miles of a hub — and they are open to all Pennsylvanians, not just members of the Penn State community.
Modeled after Penn State Extension, Invent Penn State and its innovation hubs offer no-cost services and programs at every step of the business process for budding entrepreneurs and startups. This includes entrepreneurship-focused academic programs, business startup training and incubation, funding for commercialization, co-working space, makerspaces for prototyping and fabrication, legal and intellectual property advice, and collaboration and mentorship to help turn discoveries and new ideas into products and services that benefit Pennsylvania.
State funding for Invent Penn State would help the University to strengthen and grow the LaunchBox and Innovation Hub Network, expand established entrepreneurship training programs with additional staffing and support services, and increase access to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program to support more businesses.
Visit invent.psu.edu for more information about Invent Penn State, and click here to learn how state support for Penn State benefits all Pennsylvanians.