Media Advisory: Ceremony to celebrate growth in student entrepreneurship at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A program that came to the University at Buffalo seven years ago to foster an entrepreneurial culture among students and more startups for the local economy is changing its name, expanding its reach and growing into a larger space on the North Campus.

A ceremony and ribbon-cutting are scheduled for today, Sept. 19.

The program, Blackstone LaunchPad, will be officially rebranded as the “Startup and Innovation Collaboratory Powered by Blackstone LaunchPad,” or The CoLab, for short. The relaunch includes a greater investment by the university and more staffing to accomplish its mission: helping students become entrepreneurs by turning their ideas into startups.

What: Ceremony and ribbon-cutting for the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory Powered by Blackstone LaunchPad, a hands-on learning environment designed to introduce entrepreneurship as a viable career option for UB students. The event will include tours of the new space and student demonstrations of their entrepreneurial venture or idea.

When: 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19. Requests for interviews will be accommodated at 3:30 p.m. prior to remarks.

Where: Student Union Theater, 201 Student Union on the UB North Campus in Amherst. Media can park in service spaces next to the Student Union along Mary Talbert Way.

Who: Scheduled speakers include: Hadar Borden, director of the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory; Brian F. Hamluk, vice president for Student Life at UB; Becky Paul Odionhin, UB Student Association president; Courtney Burris, WNY Prosperity Fellow alumna and winner of the 2023 Panasci Competition; and Karen Utz, Western New York regional director for Empire State Development Corp.