(Un)Tapped Potential is an event for curious graduate students, postdocs, and faculty at UC Berkeley to connect with entrepreneurial ecosystems in Berkeley and the broader Bay Area.
Background experience, personal and professional, shape our associations with the concept of entrepreneurship. Before we begin, where do we start? In pursuit of innovation, how can we best support transdisciplinary and inclusive work?
Experience a spread of options for academics coming from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. Connect with entrepreneurial networks on campus and non-profits in the broader Bay Area that are here for you whenever you need them.
The event will be hosted at SkyDeck in the penthouse of floor of the tallest building in Downtown Berkeley. The 360° view of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley city, and UC Berkeley campus serves to remind us of our collective aims, hard work, and shared humanity.
(Un)Tapped Potential will inspire, motivate, and empower graduate students and postdocs in the following ways:
Listening and Sharing Semantics
Understanding others' starting point and offering new perspectives that expand possibilities beyond preconceived notions of entrepreneurship.
(Un)Tapped Potential is an event where participants contribute to the discourse by sharing questions, challenges, and apprehensions about academic entrepreneurship.
We envision a world where every academic institution can support entrepreneurial endeavors of graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. We envision a world where the applications from research will benefit society, build community, and promote equity.
We believe UC Berkeley with strong, community-based collaborations will, "contribute even more than California's gold to the glory and happiness of advancing generations." We believe every person, with the right support, can contribute through entrepreneurship and innovation.
(Un)Tapped Potential is an entry point to a world of possibility. If you never thought of yourself as an entrepreneur, we invite you to attend (Un)Tapped Potential to learn more about what's out there. Entrepreneurship is like a tool. At any point in life, you can become an entrepreneur and create the positive change you want to see in future generations.
Mentoring
Learning from others, practicing with feedback, and creating leadership opportunities.
Mentorship is an ongoing practice shaped by experience and personal values. The recent "Nature Research: Health of Research Groups" symposium at Berkeley identified the importance of supporting PIs in their roles as mentors for research trainees, both for the university and academia at large. Beyond Academia empowers graduate students and postdocs with mentorship networks and resources outside the traditional academic track. Thriving in Science supports the engagement, resilience, and creativity of Ph.D. scientists, and Science Leadership and Management (SLAM) emphasizes the value and necessity for interpersonal support for success.
The Graduate Assembly, the Office of the Provost, and the Graduate Division have partnered to organize a series of events focusing on best practices and challenges in effective mentorship within specific research disciplines. The kick-off event focuses on Mentorship in the Life Sciences, where we consider how best to educate and train the next generation of life science researchers by developing effective faculty mentorship practices.
(Un)Tapped Potential builds on these campus efforts by connecting with the Visiting Scholar and Postdoc Association (VSPA) and offering breakouts to discuss fundamental characteristics of mentorship that can be adaptable across disciplines and the impressive heterogeneity of graduate student and postdoc identities and backgrounds.
We see mentorship as a key ingredient to empowerment, leadership, and entrepreneurship. What challenges prevent us from reaching our optimal potential in these areas, and what resources would enable us to tap that potential?
Challenging Stereotypes, Fostering Accessibility, and Broadening Opportunities
"People with my identity, accent, background etc. can do something extraordinary, like speak up in meetings and work in this field or that discipline, even if it is not commonly observed."
The Graduate Diversity Program and the STEM Equity & Inclusion Initiative connect graduate students and postdocs from historically underrepresented backgrounds with people and resources to reinforce success. UC Berkeley previously hosted the Inclusive Entrepreneurship Summit to expand access to entrepreneurial resources with an emphasis on supporting women and/or underrepresented minority entrepreneurs in STEM fields. The summit provided support for attendees to apply for SBIR/STTR funds and showcased local Bay Area non-profits available for innovators and entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.
(Un)Tapped Potential is the perfect event to prepare participants for the next Inclusive Entrepreneurship Summit because it invites participants to honestly share the associations we have with entrepreneurship.
What enables people to access entrepreneurial activities and resources? What do people think it takes to be an entrepreneur? How do we challenge stereotypes and broaden opportunities for entrepreneurial experiences?
Representation of students, faculty, and postdocs at UC Berkeley is not at parity with the diverse representation of communities in the Bay Area. Disproportionately fewer people of color choose to pursue careers in academia. To change these numbers, we need to align current priorities of academia with our vision for equity, inclusion, and innovation.
Some entrepreneurship resources offer opportunities satisfying the unique needs of different communities. Black Founders is a non-profit promoting diverse entrepreneurship. E4FC and Undocumented Student Groups provides resources for undocumented residents. WITI@Berkeley connects women in tech. Startout Community is a non-profit organization for LGBTQ entrepreneurs. Defy Ventures, Inc. is a training program for people who are currently or formerly incarcerated. New Media Ventures empowers progressive new media startups through seed funding and community building. Bringing these groups together to engage in dialogue with prospective entrepreneurs of different identities is a key part of the experience at (Un)Tapped Potential.
We invite graduate students, postdocs, and faculty from all disciplines and backgrounds to experience the possibilities that come with having the tools for entrepreneurship at your disposal.
We invite participants of (Un)Tapped Potential to:
- Revisit the purpose of the University. Is the structure adapting to the times?
- Support collaborative financial opportunities. How can everyone feel empowered in transdisciplinary pursuits and entrepreneurial endeavors?
- Create space for others to be heard and a willingness to listen. How can we learn from each other?
Reimagine the future of academia. As we move forward, what are the possibilities? What needs to happen to makes these possibilities a reality?