12th Feb, 2026; Universal Ai University (UAi), India’s first and the world’s third AI university, has announced the launch of an Entrepreneurship Center of Excellence, a university-wide initiative to integrate innovation, entrepreneurial culture, and venture creation into the university’s learning and research ecosystem. The Center has been established in academic collaboration with Florida State University and Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
The newly launched Entrepreneurship Center is conceptualized on “globally benchmarked and American University-inspired” frameworks and models, the entrepreneurship center reflects UAi’s vision of “aligning global best practices with India’s burgeoning entrepreneurial aspirations. It will serve students, faculty, alumni, and startup communities within the surrounding areas, while also welcoming global startup companies as resident members of the UAi Startup Launchpad. This is geared to facilitate real-world collaborations that provide startups with the benefits of UAi’s academic expertise, research facilities, labs, and student resources to create a dynamic innovation-led ecosystem.
The university will organise the first flagship event of the newly formed Center, the UAi BigIdeas Student PitchFest, scheduled for March 7. This event promises a university-wide initiative for students from diverse streams to present their original ideas through a fast-paced pitching format.
Speaking on the launch, Dr. Simon Mak, The Founding Vice Chancellor of Universal Ai University and Alum of MIT, USA, remarked, “The UAi Entrepreneurship Center of Excellence represents an important milestone in our mission to embed entrepreneurship as an integral part of the university experience. Innovation thrives when ideas can be taken from the learning space and translated into incubation and implementation within a framework that offers flexibility. By drawing on the best of both worlds in terms of approach and environment, the Entrepreneurship Center of Excellence at UAi seeks to enable a new generation of students and faculty to develop entrepreneurial ventures that are technologically capable, globally relevant, and impactful in their approach.”
Congratulating UAi on the launch, and joining hands as academic partner, Eric Liguori, PhD, Associate Dean, Research & External Affairs, Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, Florida State University, said, “Entrepreneurship is a global force, and it is encouraging to see Universal Ai University take a structured and impactful approach to nurturing innovation. We look forward to continued collaboration as the UAi Entrepreneurship Center contributes to the broader startup ecosystem.”
Sharing his views as an academic partner, Dr. Nader Jalili, Mary and Richard Templeton Dean, Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, added, “During my visit to the UAi campus in 2024, I was deeply impressed by the vibrant and forward-looking culture of innovation and entrepreneurship taking shape across the university. Now, the establishment of this center represents the strong innovative culture that is in development at Universal Ai University. This is an important step toward enabling students to become technology-driven entrepreneurs, and we look forward to opportunities to collaborate in the future.
Through this launch, Universal Ai University is reinforcing its commitment to matching education, innovation, and execution seamlessly, while placing entrepreneurship at the core of academic achievement, academic innovation, and societal impact. In line with its enduring philosophy of Think. Act. Grow: The university is extending an open invitation to startups to partner with UAi to turn their ideas into successful businesses with a structured model of education, incubation, and execution.
