Innovation Day connects entrepreneurs, tech start-ups with industry leaders, investors

“The charge to the commission is to identify policies, practices, strategies to grow our innovation, sector, entrepreneurship technology, and knowledge-based jobs across the state in a coordinated and strategic manner,” explained Rep. Bill Poole, (R) Tuscaloosa, who chairs the commission. “And so the Commission’s charge is to determine how to do that and to make recommendations and the Commission has issued a number of interim recommendations.

Montgomery has become a hot spot for tech and innovation. A number of public-private partnerships are in place to attract, recruit, and retain talented people and their companies: Riis Technology is part of the Montgomery TechLab, has partnered with Alabama State University, and was awarded a grant in the Science Technology Transfer program. STTR is a very competitive program that connects small businesses to federal research and development.

“Now the next nine months of this program, we’re going to be here,” Gardner said. “We’re going to be engaging with community members. We’re going to be engaging with the research community at ASU. We’re going to be engaging with the Air Force. And because of this partnership, now we are going to put back the things that we’ve been given. And so there’s a real humble responsibility.”

Montgomery is hosting Alabama’s Innovation Day and the Montgomery TechLab Demo Day/Pitch Night. These events will bring State legislators, Hoover Institute Fellows, Tech Industry Stakeholders, Academia, Investors, and tech startups into Montgomery’s tech and innovation district to connect, engage and learn about our initiatives, partnerships and potential.