Five Indiana startup companies will receive $100,000 as part of a program to merge education and high-tech innovation.
Indianapolis-based Butler University and TechPoint will team up with gener8tor. The global firm partners with organizations to operate accelerator programs, in a partnership named Butler Accelerator for Education and Workforce Innovation powered by gener8tor.
“The program will have a huge impact on five high-growth small businesses and, in turn, the Central Indiana community,” said Melissa Beckwith, Butler University’s vice president for strategy and innovation, in a press release.
Through the partnership, Butler University, TechPoint and gener8tor will equip the startups with funding, work space, mentorship, access to capital and networking. Early stage small businesses and startups from the U.S. and Canada are eligible. The five startups selected will relocate to Indianapolis for the three-month-long program. Interested founders and startups can apply online here through Jan. 1.
Edtech is the integration of education and technology. It refers to the digital innovation affecting schools, workplace learning and individual learning. The global Edtech market is expected to reach $605.4 billion by 2027.
“Edtech is more than a growing part of the tech sector, it’s an incredibly important part of ensuring our educational facilities are giving our students the very best start in life and access to all the tools they need to learn and thrive in the ever-technologically driven world,” said Chelsea Linder, TechPoint vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship, in a press release.
The goal of the Butler Accelerator is to help grow this sector of Indiana’s economy and to create companies that provide sustainable solutions for today’s education and workforce challenges.
“There are few places where entrepreneurs are more supported or have more access to experts who can help them develop and get their ideas to market than Indiana,” Linder said. “By bringing in leaders in this space from across the U.S. and Canada, we think we’ll both boost our local big thinkers and bring in others who we hope will find their forever home here.”
