UNM Hosts Economic Development Summit
An economic development summit in Albuquerque on Friday aims to generate bright ideas from researchers, innovators, businesspeople and professionals about how the University of New Mexico can best contribute to local economic development.
The conference, organized by UNM, also aims to inspire participants to not just see, but help plant, a full forest dedicated to economic growth, rather than individual trees. That’s premised on the economic development theory of Victor Hwang, a venture capitalist and principal author of “The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley,” who will speak at the summit. UNM President Robert Frank said Hwang’s theory forms the framework for the conference.
“He (Hwang) has developed a concept, appropriately named ‘The Rainforest,’ where a mixture of resources, human creativity, business acumen, scientific discovery, investment capital and other elements come together for the development of new ideas to grow into new enterprises,” Frank said in an invitation to prospective participants.
Gov. Susana Martinez, Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and Ed Poppell, innovator and former vice president of business affairs and economic development at the University of Florida, will also speak.
Presentations will focus on the role of research universities in the state economy and the opportunities and challenges they face, as well as the impact of New Mexico’s national laboratories. A panel of technology innovators, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will discuss how to create a rainforest in the desert.
The conference is full, with more than 300 people registered, said Mark Lautman of Lautman Economic Architecture, which has helped organize the summit.