What starts here changes the world — and your gifts make that possible.

It’s easy to see how donations to The University of Texas at Austin help students through scholarships or project funding, or even how they support important research in the sciences.

But you may not realize that your giving also plays an important part in UT’s Discovery to Impact programs, which bring research discoveries to the marketplace to change the world — launching startups and collaborating with industry to accelerate new products, services, solutions and cures.

One of those programs is the Austin Technology Incubator. Founded in 1989, it’s the U.S.’ oldest active technology incubator. A dozen UT student associates support ATI’s membership pipeline every step of the way, from a company’s first contact to evaluating their readiness for membership. They also work hands-on with ATI’s deep tech startups.

“When ATI companies are new, they don’t always have the bandwidth to do everything they need to do,” says ATI’s Assistant Director Mauricio Pajon, Ph.D. ’13. “Our student associates contribute to that through projects.” This year, one of ATI’s current member companies needed support for its business model. An ATI student associate, an undergraduate in the McCombs School of Business, did their financial modeling and has helped build their list of potential funders. Through the Student Associate Program, undergraduate and graduate students from colleges and schools across UT gain valuable hands-on experience while sharing their talents with ATI startups.

“Being an ATI student associate has opened a lot of doors for me,” says Shan Kutagulla, a Ph.D. candidate in materials engineering. “I get to work with brilliant people making a tremendous impact and meet founders who are changing the world every day.

It’s allowed me to think about how to spin my research out of the lab and given me the tools to go into technology development, not to mention the impact I get to make on ATI’s portfolio — I recently analyzed data for one company that helped them land a round of funding. That kind of experience in the real world while still in school is priceless.”

Your gift gives UT students the hands-on experience they need to become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, and strengthens startups solving the world’s biggest challenges by connecting them with UT’s world-class student talent.