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Where will entrepreneurs, researchers, industry professionals and citizens come together to make an impact in Chapel Hill? Innovate Carolina will operate an innovation hub where problem solvers can join forces to put their ideas, discoveries and ventures to work in unprecedented ways.

Our innovation hub will be the epicenter of the Chapel Hill innovation district. This co-working and collaboration-driven environment will cultivate diverse points of view and provide creative spaces for inventive thinking, working and meeting that are unique to Carolina and the Town of Chapel Hill. Together, we’ll build new startups, expand corporate and community partnerships, and engage alumni, investors, students and mentors around not-yet-imagined entrepreneurial endeavors.

An epicenter of innovation talent and impact. In the heart of Chapel Hill.

Fueled by social and commercial entrepreneurs, the innovation hub will contribute to a strong, diversified economy and healthy lives for the people of Chapel Hill and beyond. The University will issue a request-for-proposals for the innovation hub. The innovation hub will:

  • Combine thoughtful space design with innovation services.
  • Bridge university innovation to community impact.
  • Accelerate startup companies and social ventures.
  • Connect leading corporations to top talent.
  • Fuel diverse thinking and perspectives.
  • Bolster the local economy with jobs and workers.
  • Bring discoveries out of the lab and into the community.
  • Promote life-longer learning and alumni relationships.
  • Create an exchange between academia and community.
  • Retain university- and community-founded startups.
  • Serve as a magnet for top student and faculty talent.

Innovation spaces and services for the community

To accelerate ideas into impact, Innovate Carolina will provide programs, services and resources that help the innovators of today solve the problems of tomorrow.

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The Junction

Where Campus Meets Community – Creative spaces, co-working, services and programs for inventive thinking, working and meeting – open to all in the heart of downtown Chapel Hill at the Innovate Carolina Junction.
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Innovation Programs and Services

Infuse the space with the tools and methods of innovation: design thinking,  startup coaching, legal expertise, patent landscaping, market research, etc.
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Co-Working Space

Provide modern, collaborative co-working spaces to remote employees of innovative corporations, community members who need a landing pad, and startups looking for a place to grow.
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Startup Accelerator

Create a space and entrepreneurial environment where emerging startups, social ventures and promising small businesses can engage with mentors, connect with one another and grow.
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Industry Collaborations

Provide top companies with space for their employees, while creating a space where faculty, students and industry experts work together on shared projects of interest.
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Research Commercialziation

Bring discoveries out of the lab and into the community, where academic and industry innovators can collaborate to build on UNC-Chapel Hill’s robust foundation of research in biosciences, social sciences and technology.
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Business Networks

Bring the University community, local citizens and the business world together to explore ideas, partnerships and opportunities for impact.