NTXIA Launches Immersive Innovation Program to Highlight Most Advanced Solutions Across North Texas

DALLAS, March 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- North Texas Innovation Alliance, a 501(c)3 regional consortium of over 40 municipalities, agencies, corporations and academic institutions across North Texas working to create the most connected, smart and resilient region in the country, has announced the launch of its Immersive Innovation Program. This program highlights the brightest and most innovative projects across North Texas while providing hands-on learning experiences for NTXIA members.

Through the Immersive Innovation Program, NTXIA organizes hands-on innovation experiences, or field trips, quarterly. In addition to benefiting NTXIA membership, these field trips allow the innovation community across North Texas to showcase their research, pilot projects and campus environments to a diverse audience who is looking for solutions to a variety of challenges. These interactions serve as another opportunity for members to connect with companies and researchers who are at the forefront of cutting-edge technology that could directly impact the future standard of living and economic development in the region and allow NTXIA members to witness in real-time how emerging technologies and solutions can be applied in real-world settings.

"This program is key for our membership in 2024 as our members have more of a desire than ever to see the latest innovations across the state," said NTXIA Executive Director Jennifer Sanders. "The creation of our Immersive Innovation Program stemmed from direct feedback from our members requesting to see innovative research and applications to serve both as inspiration and to identify solutions for each of their unique challenges. At NTXIA, our goal is to act as the connector between the public, private and academic sectors, and this program acts as another way to both educate and connect our members to the latest and greatest innovations in our region."

The Immersive Innovation Program kicked off at the National Science Foundation's newly opened eCAT Center at the University of North Texas, focusing on research across electric, connected and autonomous technologies for mobility. Here, members experienced autonomous shuttles, toured the outdoor testing facility and viewed demos of new self-driving cars and more. NTXIA is planning for the next Immersive Innovation Program event to be held at the Richardson Innovation Quarter, also known as Richardson IQ. This living laboratory facility serves both startups and scale-ups in their journey of innovation and solution deployment.

"NTXIA's Immersive Innovation series is a fantastic resource for both the public and private sectors to find out more about various innovative groups and solutions across the region," said eCAT Mobility Center Site Director and Professor Song Fu. "We were thrilled to be the first official stop of the program. This visit proved to both benefit NTXIA members but also the eCAT center as well. We were able to have open and productive conversations about innovation and about how to bring key solutions to different areas of North Texas. This sharing of information is key when it comes to activating innovative ideas. We are looking forward to seeing how this program grows with NTXIA."

NTXIA's goal is to have three to four Immersive Innovation events over the year for their members. Each event will be at a different location, highlighting different technologies and organizations that may be able to offer helpful solutions across the region.

"The feedback we have received thus far from the program has been phenomenal," said NTXIA Director of Strategic Partnerships Yumna Bham. "It makes an incredible difference for our members to see these solutions live and to speak with these innovation hubs directly. This is another avenue for our members to be exposed to groundbreaking research and opportunities so they may best serve their communities and stakeholders. We are excited to see how the program will continue to grow throughout this year." 

About the North Texas Innovation Alliance
The North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA) is a 501(c)3 consortium of key cross-sector stakeholders working to develop and implement a smart region strategy for North Texas. The NTXIA is building the most connected, smart and resilient region in the country – bringing together government entities on all levels, transit agencies, utilities/infrastructure, public safety, educational institutions and some of the world's top technology developers in the private sector to pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. The organization's mission is to break down silos and drive the collaborative use of data, technology and community to address the most pressing topics and create solutions that will improve quality of life, drive inclusive economic development and promote resource efficiency. For more information, please visit www.NTXIA.org, or follow LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA)