The University of California, Riverside, has secured a significant win in the fight against climate change, bagging a $1 million grant to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the green energy space. The grant is part of a mammoth $185 million partnership between UC and the state of California to tackle the devastating effects of climate change head-on. The funds will go towards launching the OASIS Entrepreneurial Academy, providing vital education, mentorship, and commercialization support to budding green innovators from across the Inland Empire. This is a significant step forward in the fight against climate change, and UC Riverside is leading the movement from the Inland Empire.

The Role of the UC System in Supporting Climate Action

UC Riverside is taking on the climate crisis with the launch of the OASIS Entrepreneurial Academy. As part of the broader OASIS initiative, the program aims to expand opportunities for underrepresented communities in STEM fields while supporting the development of solutions that increase the climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation capacity of vulnerable populations in the Inland Empire.

With the help of the Office of Technology Partnership’s entrepreneurs-in-residence, the program will provide training and mentorship to budding climate innovators. The grant, part of a more significant $185 million partnership between UC and the state of California, will fund programmatic activities that tackle the effects of a warming planet head-on, making UC Riverside a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship for climate action goals.

California Lawmakers to Bring Cross-disciplinary Expertise to Bear on Climate Crisis

California is investing big in climate action projects, with $15 million in funds allocated for the cause in the 2022-23 budget alone. As part of this investment, the University of California (UC) system will award an additional $80 million in grants to researchers across the state. These grants will facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to find solutions to the climate crisis.

UC Riverside is one of the ten campuses receiving a $1 million grant to support innovation and entrepreneurship in climate action goals. The OASIS Entrepreneurial Academy, launched by UC Riverside, will provide mentorship and assistance with commercialization to climate innovators in the Inland Empire region. The program aims to develop solutions that increase the climate resilience of the most vulnerable populations in the area, and the grant will support programmatic activities to that end.

Wrap up

Overall, the partnership between UC and the state of California is a significant effort to tackle the persistent climate-related challenges in the state. Investing in climate action projects and promoting cross-disciplinary collaboration aims to bring about measurable impacts over the next one to three years while laying the groundwork for long-term solutions to the climate crisis.