By: Teelia Lowery
HOUSTON - Station Houston, a Hub for Techs Start-ups, Entrepreneurs, and Innovation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 23 for The Ion Smart Cities Accelerator Program.
Christine Galib, director of Ion Smart Cities stimulated the room with her opening words, offering insight on the program’s vision.
“A Smart Cities is only as smart as the ways in which it’s technology truly serves its people’s needs and makes our lives not just different but better,” Galib said. “Each start-up has continuously sought to ask questions and listen to answers so they can learn what’s truly needed to meet the people of Houston’s needs.”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner shined a light on the innovative movement of the city’s new Technology Hub.
“If you want to be a connective city, you have to take advantage of the technology that’s coming online every single day,” Turner said. “It’s about creating good positive jobs in our city.
Mayor Turner referenced Chicago’s 1871 which created 40,000 high paying jobs, stating Houston can do better offering more job opportunities within the technology field.
“It’s not just about benefitting one community or one segment of town, it’s about making sure we tap the talent that exists throughout our city,” Mayor Turner said. “It’s about taking advantage of this new ecosystem we’re creating in our city.”
The event featured businesses and start-ups such as Microsoft, Intel, and TXRX Lab, NHEO Institute, Leverage Program, and Serl.io.
Each start-up has come together to form a cohort that is concerned with identifying, analyzing and sharing data.
John Jenkins is the founder of the Leverage Program, an entrepreneurship education program that allows existing non-profits to use their curriculum to empower their students to create projects. He’s been working his program in Fifth Ward of Houston for some time and plans to move it to Third Ward.
“We work with organizations like ION and TXRX to make sure they have the facilities to actually create the things they want to create so they can test those things in the marketplace.” Jenkins said."
Jenkins and his company Leverage Program have partnered with Third Ward in developing ways on how to best scale for the city of Houston, therefore, when Ion opens, they have the diversity of students to work with.
“We work with non-profits such as Workshop Houston and work with their students to actually come up with an idea, prototype that idea and then start their own company,” Jenkins said.
The Smart Cities Accelerator Program aims to assist technologies that can be used in cities across Texas. Its curriculum-based programming will continue through Dec. 4, followed by start-ups participating in pilot programs to further test and prove their technologies.
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