Edhat Staff
Roughly 44 new tech startups emerge every year from research conducted at UCSB and through the Technology Management Program’s new venture program (Photo: Sonia Fernandez)
Source: Sonia Fernandez, UC Santa Barbara
It may be only a matter of time — and a few strategic maneuvers — before the southern half of California becomes a tech entrepreneurial powerhouse to rival and complement Northern California’s Silicon Valley. The economic conditions are right, and the intellectual capital is reaching critical mass. Virtually all that needs to happen is the focusing of the considerable potential that already exists and Southern California could be the next source of transformational technology.
“I mean transformational technology that has impacted the entire planet,” said Joe Incandela, UC Santa Barbara professor of physics and Vice Chancellor of Research, referring to the impact Silicon Valley’s computing and internet innovations have had on the rest of the world. Incandela is a board member of the nonprofit Alliance for Southern California Innovation, which was founded by entrepreneur and former California insurance commissioner Steve Poizner, and includes several Southern California Universities and a consortium of world-renowned research institutes.
The Alliance recently commissioned a study titled “How Southern California Could Be the Next Great Tech Ecosystem,” in which the Boston Consulting Group evaluated how the region stacks up against others in terms of the qualities that could result in the type of flourishing technological and entrepreneurial environment found in Northern California.
The Bay Area outranked all other leading sites overall, with top scores in areas including human capital, financial capital, strong university system, strong corporate environment, adequate infrastructure and a culture conducive to innovation. However, according to the study, “SoCal arguably ranks second overall,” with high marks in human and financial capital, as well as a strong university system that includes UCSB, four other UC campuses, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, the University of San Diego, The Claremont Colleges (Harvey Mudd College) and the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine.
“UC Santa Barbara and these other top institutions have great students and produce really fantastically well-trained people for the modern labor force,” Incandela said. The report bears this out, indicating that the Southern California region produces more tech Ph.D.s per year than any other region in the country. Additionally, he added, the students who graduate in the region are increasingly more likely to stay in the area.
Read the full article at news.ucsb.edu
