FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR This past year has been one to both reflect on our past accomplishments and look forward to our future possibilities. In April, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Batten Institute in a gala affair attended by 150 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends (see p. 8 for highlights). While a number of the decade’s remarkable achievements were celebrated, far more important is what they represent: the lives that have been impacted, the ideas that have been generated, the ventures that have been spawned, and the conversations that have been fostered. In 2010-11 alone, thousands of students, faculty, alumni, scholars, and community members participated in Batten Institute programs. In November, we hosted our 2nd annual Entrepreneurship Conference, focusing on the “Life Cycle of a Startup,” where 250 students, alumni, and community members
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... THE LIVES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED, THE IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN GENERATED, THE VENTURES THAT HAVE BEEN SPAWNED, AND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN FOSTERED.”
participated in a series of panels, discussion, and workshops. In March, we hosted a dozen Chief Innovation Officers from leading corporations such as Corning, Siemens, ATT, and Bank of America as part of our Innovators’ Roundtable. Throughout the year, we continued our Ideas to Action tour, holding packed events in London, Frankfurt, Zurich, New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Houston. The Batten Institute’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, under the direction of Philippe Sommer, continued its efforts to provide rich educational opportunities. We had 139 entries into the U.Va. Entrepreneurship Cup anointing the best venture concept at the University. Eighteen ventures founded by MBA students participated in the Darden Business Incubator. Twenty students received a full Batten scholarships. More than 30 students interned at entrepreneurial ventures as part of the Batten Venture Internship program. Under the leadership of Sean Carr, director of intellectual capital, we expanded our Batten Grant program—opening it up for the first time to faculty throughout the University of Virginia and attracting proposals from five other schools. We published a series of Batten Briefings on the venture capital industry that was featured at U.Va.’s Venture Summit in March. In May, we hosted our 2nd annual Darden Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Conference joint with the Carey-Darden Scholars Retreat, attracting over 70 academics from leading universities around the world to discuss cutting-edge research.
4 | ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011