Energy Ventures Practicum: Spring 2025

Commercialize innovations in the energy sector

Taught by UT's Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs, the Energy Ventures Practicum brings together teams of business, law, policy, and technology students to develop essential skills, capabilities, and connections for creating ventures in the dynamic energy sector. The primary objectives of the class are to provide a robust framework for commercializing innovations in energy and to equip entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to frame and build businesses.

This graduate-level course goes beyond general entrepreneurial concepts to address special challenges faced in the energy industry and related sectors. The course is designed to educate students through hands-on, practical experience. In the first two weeks of the Spring semester, ideas for new technologies or services (from labs, companies, and fellow students) are pitched to the class. Student teams then choose the ideas they like and, over the course of the semester, they each develop a viable plan for commercializing the idea they've chosen.

Key Highlights

• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Work alongside students from diverse backgrounds to foster innovation and gain a holistic perspective.

• Skill Development: Hone your skills in commercializing energy innovations, and learn how to navigate the complexities of the energy sector.

• Networking Opportunities: Connect with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and potential collaborators to expand your professional network.

Apply Today to Take the Class! 

The application period for students to take the Spring 2025 TVL Energy Ventures Practicum class is now open! You may apply here.

Submit Your Innovation! 

Sign up to pitch your idea to the Energy Ventures Practicum, where students create a real-world energy venture based on ideas pitched by … you! This is an exciting opportunity to test whether your technology has viability in a commercial landscape, and to join the new generation of entrepreneurs who are developing the path-breaking innovations that will define the next era in energy. (Deadline: TBA.)

Note: You do not, by bringing your technology to the class, give away existing control of IP. Involvement of the Principal Investigator (PI) is per interest and unique to each collaboration.

Please note that Energy Ventures teams are not be considered consultants to a project, but rather entrepreneurs of a new venture. It is thus expected that teams will run in the direction that they deem best suited to their identified market. While no guarantees are made—neither to the students nor to the PIs—the intention is for teams to move forward with the venture after the class has finished. (In fact, alumni of the class on which this course is based, MIT’s Climate & Energy Ventures Course, have spun out 30+ startups and counting.)

Deadlines

• Class Enrollment: The deadline for applying to take the course is November 3, 2024, 11:59pm. 

• Idea Submission: Submit your idea here; deadline TBA.