InnovateLA 2016 Displays LA's World-Renowned Innovative & Creative Ecosystem

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As a result of three continuous years of success, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) has rebranded Los Angeles Innovation Week(s) to InnovateLA, a countywide celebration of the breadth of innovation and creativity found within the Los Angeles region, with events starting today. In conjunction with Innovate Pasadena's Connect Week, City of Long Beach Innovation Week and UCLA Innovation Week, events will run from October 6 through October 23, 2016. Tens of thousands of Angelenos are expected to attend the more than 100 events touching on cleantech, arts, business, manufacturing and civic engagement.

Los Angeles provides an unparalleled convergence of innovation, spanning the arts to aerospace, traditional and digital entertainment to transportation, manufacturing and international trade. The creative collisions and collaboration at overlapping fringes of industries unleash new ideas, industries and businesses, providing great economic opportunity for the residents of the region.

Over the course of three weeks, a variety of events hosted by civic organizations, universities, leading businesses and more will celebrate and highlight the talent and ingenuity found across Los Angeles. Events encompass the breadth of thinking and bold endeavors covering a myriad of topics in formats including panel discussions, showcases, demonstrations, workshops and social mixers.

"Innovation is transforming city services in Los Angeles, where we have turned regular streetlights into cell phone towers or electric car chargers, and garbage trucks into mobile sensors of street cleanliness," said Mayor Eric Garcetti. "Basic city functions require advanced solutions, and my administration is working with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, corporate partners and cities across our great region to host InnovateLA — a remarkable festival celebrating the innovative spirit that cuts across our public and private sectors, our startups and large media companies, our trade colleges and research universities. I am especially proud to mark the beginning of this year's festival with the grand opening of the La Kretz Innovation Campus, the new home of one of the nation's leading cleantech incubators."

"The unmatched breadth and scale of innovation in Los Angeles County is a differentiating factor for our region, fueling new products, services and processes, as well as reinvestment, which ultimately creates jobs and improves standards of living for residents and communities," said David Flaks, President and Chief Operating Officer of LAEDC.

"Long Beach is thriving thanks to our entrepreneurs, innovators and talented city staff. I am proud of the various partnerships we've been able to form with our industry leaders, academia and the public sector to create new tools that make our City a wonderful place to launch new ventures," said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. "It is great to collaborate with LAEDC to showcase our local innovations and take the opportunity this month to strengthen our partnerships within the county."

"Pasadena is a city of innovators, entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, CEOs and actual rocket scientists – all who share in growing our innovation community. Pasadena is a proud partner of InnovateLA, and we're excited to provide a platform during #Connect16 to showcase Pasadena's depth and diversity of change-makers who are expanding the way we live, work and learn," said Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek.

Events will commence on October 6 in Long Beach for the 2016 City of Long Beach Innovation Summit, and in Los Angeles on October 7 with the Grand Opening of La Kretz Innovation Campus, which is the brainchild of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The La Kretz Grand Opening will include innovation expos, campus tours and networking receptions, and remarks by City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and other notable figures.

The full array of the 100-plus events can be found on the web at Innovate.LA.

The following sampling of countywide events showcase the depth of programming during InnovateLA, making clear why Los Angeles is the innovation hub - no matter the industry and no matter the endeavor:

• CITY OF LONG BEACH CIVIC INNOVATION SUMMIT, October 6 at Long Beach Convention Center: a day-long summit highlighting the City's progress in civic, social, and government innovation where thought leaders, community members, planners and professional staff will be recognized for outstanding efforts and cutting-edge innovation in the public sector.
• CicLAvia - HEART OF LA, October 16: Boyle Heights, Chinatown, DTLA and Westlake will host the country's largest open streets event. Streets will be closed to cars and open for cyclists, pedestrians, runners and skaters to use as a recreational space.
• CITY OF LOS ANGELES GARDEN SESSIONS, October 17-21: Five days of interactive sessions with private and public sector leaders, highlighting the City's progress in key areas of government innovation.
• GETGLOBAL 2016 - GLOBAL BUSINESS EXPANSION CONFERENCE, October 20-21: Hear from leading experts, high-level dignitaries and C-suite executives for more than two days of insights on global business expansion and strategy, all to help American companies succeed in foreign markets.
• BIG BANG BLOCK PARTY, October 20: Old Pasadena's Big Bang Theory Way will be transformed into a giant block party with music, games, two bars and fiery food. The Innovate Pasadena team will provide welcoming remarks and alongside other special guests help officially christen Big Bang Theory Way.
• CYBERSECURITY SUMMIT, October 22: Loyola Marymount University hosts the third annual Cybersecurity Summit with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, the senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, as keynote speaker. The Summit brings together government officials, executives and cybersecurity experts to discuss current and emerging threats that exist in today's cyber environment, and the technological advancements being made to countermeasure and manage these risks.

InnovateLA is supported by regional sponsors whose commitment to the overarching goals of InnovateLA continue to accelerate the success of this event and bring a greater visibility to LA's thriving ecosystem of innovators. Sponsors include Metro, Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, KCET Media Group, Ernst & Young, Amgen, AECOM, Elevate My Brand, GEOSKOPE, GEN ART.

About InnovateLA
InnovateLA is a countywide celebration of the breadth of innovation and creativity within our region. From cleantech to gaming to aerospace and digital media and beyond, Los Angeles is a leading global center for innovation and entrepreneurship rooted in boundless creativity and diversity. InnovateLA takes place from October 6 - October 23 2016.  www.Innovate.LA

About UCLA Innovation Week
UCLA Innovation Week in conjunction with Bruincubate, brings together all of UCLA's entrepreneurial organizations to help students, faculty, and staff explore and grow their ideas into tangible products. Bruincubate is a collection of 18 different groups at UCLA dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and is supported by the Entrepreneurship Council. www.bruincubate.com

About Pasadena Connect Week
Spearheaded by Innovate Pasadena, Connect Week (Oct 16-23) is a prime opportunity to envision the future of tech and design, engage with local startups and industry leaders, and let the next big idea ignite. #Connect16 covers Design, Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship, as well as a fifth topic in honor of Astronomy Week, celebrating Pasadena's leadership in telescopic celestial discovery and robotic space science. Events include panels, tech competitions, seminars, open houses, exhibitions, hackathons, lectures, meetups, networking mixers, pitch sessions, tradeshows, workshops and more. www.connectpasadena.com

About City of Long Beach Innovate Week
City of Long Beach Innovation Week will highlight how the city is becoming an engine of innovation. Mayor Robert Garcia kicks off the week by giving a civic talk at the Long Beach Civic Innovation Summit on October 6 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Interested participants can register at innovateLB.com/summit, at no cost. A full calendar of events includes, "ESRI GeoApp Challenge" (October 8), "Go Human" to promotes activation projects throughout the area, student animation contests, Library re-invention and more.  www.innovatelb.com/innovation-week/

About Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC)
LAEDC is focused on raising standards of living for residents of L.A. County by increasing economic opportunity and regional prosperity. Through collaborative economic development leadership the LAEDC promotes a globally competitive, prosperous and growing L.A. County economy to improve the health and wellbeing of its residents and communities and enable those residents to meet their basic human need for a job. Offering objective economic research and analysis, strategic assistance to government and business, and targeted public policy, LAEDC is guided and supported by the expertise and counsel of its business, government and education members and partners. LAEDC was established in 1981 as a private, non-profit, public benefit corporation. www.LAEDC.org

Media contacts: 

Lawren Markle
LAEDC Director of Public Relations
[email protected]
213-236-4847

Eric Lindbom
Edelman for LAEDC
[email protected] 
323-202-1419

SOURCE LAEDC

Related Links

http://www.LAEDC.org