The department that oversees Portland State’s pipeline to innovation, Propel PSU, has relocated to a new campus location, bringing its four programs together into a single, integrated space.
The move creates a dedicated hub for entrepreneurship and innovation at PSU, better serving students, faculty, community members and business owners alike. It’s also part of the collective effort at PSU to drive Portland's economic, social and cultural resurgence.
“Moving all of these units into the same building really opens up opportunities to bring together access and resources for the PSU and Portland Metro entrepreneurial community,” says Joseph Janda, Assistant Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies and leader of Propel PSU.
Propel PSU’s new space, located at the corner of SW 5th Ave and SW Lincoln St, is a multi-story building designed to accommodate four programs — Metro Region Innovation Hub, Portland State Business Accelerator, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Intellectual Property — as well as local businesses that rent and occupy office space.
Each of Propel’s programs are designed to foster breakthrough ideas, support entrepreneurship and create a positive impact within the community while serving a distinct audience and purpose.
The Portland State Business Accelerator is a hub for entrepreneurial collaboration that connects companies with faculty research and development expertise, and leverages the talent and energy of student project teams. Alongside establishing strong connections with PSU, the program provides a physical home for local startups along with strategic programming and mentorship.
Down the hall, the Center for Entrepreneurship is a student-focused program that nurtures innovation, forward-thinking and creativity. One of its key initiatives is Invent Oregon, the only statewide college-level prototyping competition in Oregon.
This flagship program empowers students to see themselves as innovators by providing hands-on experience in developing and refining their prototypes. Participants compete for cash prizes to further fund their ideas.
The center also hosts the Cleantech Challenge for students who have prototype ideas with a positive environmental or social impact, further reflecting the way Propel PSU fosters — and merges — ingenuity and community.
Propel PSU also facilitates the Everyday Entrepreneur program for students who have an idea for a business model rather than a prototype. The competition supports ventures such as third spaces, yoga studios and coffee shops.
Over 10 weeks, participants in the Everyday Entrepreneur program refine their business models, enhance their pitching skills, connect with like-minded peers and receive mentorship from staff and industry professionals. The experience culminates in a final competition for cash prizes.
Additionally, Propel PSU hosts the Innovation and Intellectual Property (IIP) office, which specializes in wrapping intellectual property, including licensing, patenting and copyrighting works developed through PSU activities.
IIP is highly focused on impact. They support and empower university start-ups, while engaging with faculty and research groups to further develop their research portfolios. In doing so, IIP plays an integral role in strengthening PSU's position as a regional leader in research and innovation.
The newest program housed in Propel PSU’s new space is the Metro Region Innovation Hub, a community-driven program to improve accessibility and better serve entrepreneurs in the Portland Metro area. The hub supports small businesses by offering entrepreneurs access to valuable resources, guidance and networking opportunities, further solidifying Propel PSU’s role as a driver of progress and community support in Portland.
In addition to its impactful programs, Propel PSU has a spacious event venue that community members can use up to twice a year free of charge. The event space features a large multi-purpose room boasting floor to ceiling windows, a mural by local artist, Rebekah Hallier, and vibrant printed carpet that pays tribute to the iconic PDX airport carpet.
Propel PSU also provides both community and technological resources, such as those needed for apparel businesses, to support artists in their journey, helping them become leaders in their creative endeavors.
Arsh Haque, director of the Portland State Business Accelerator, emphasizes the importance of empowering artists as entrepreneurs.
“One key focus of the building is supporting the intersection of art, technology and entrepreneurship,” Haque says. “For example, our Artists in Residence program houses technical artists (e.g., a mechanical engineer specialized in ceramic paints on metal), who help us pioneer new initiatives like building out a makerspace that integrates advances in textile manufacturing and digital knitting.”
In the future, Propel PSU plans to offer resources for parents and children, with an emphasis on addressing the needs of entrepreneurs who are single parents. As Janda explains, this will increase accessibility to the resources and opportunities Propel PSU provides, ensuring that all community members can access the support and tools to unleash their ideas.
The programs and offerings of Propel PSU showcase all the ways they focus on bridging gaps and facilitating inclusion for community members to realize their ideas and connecting faculty, students and entrepreneurs around the area to small local businesses that remain vital to the Portland community. The new location as a central hub for innovation, local small businesses and entrepreneurs further empowers their initiatives to thrive, revitalizing Portland, one idea at a time.