Remember when the sky was the limit? That’s not the case anymore in Austin, where in May, the University of Texas at Austin launches a master’s degree in space entrepreneurship. The new degree offering will be a part of the Masters in Science in Technology Commercialization program. According to Director Gary Cadenhead, it will combine space exploration with business management.
The innovative program is rather fitting for a city Forbes magazine recently named as the most likely city to become the next Silicon Valley Tech hub, followed by Dallas. Noted for its large venture capital funding and low unemployment rates and housing costs, Austin is already courting the lucrative mobile apps market with the developer Phunware establishing itself there. Such ventures could put 9,000 new tech jobs in place by 2017, said the Austin Technology Council.
Austin tops the list, too, in business journalist Timothy Sprinkle’s book showcasing America’s new tech start-up culture. Sprinkle tells Tech Cocktail, “Austin has been a tech-minded city for decades – dating back to the 1960s when IBM, Texas Instruments and other hardware companies located in the city – so it has a deep base of experienced been-there-done-that mentors to help show new entrepreneurs the way.”
In the early 90′s then-governor Ann Richards envisioned the same, teaming with Dr. George Kozmetsky in nurturing a market ripe for start-ups. Think Dell Computers, for one. As for Austin’s future, watch for a young, educated populace to take it to space and beyond. The stage is set.