Southern Miss Offers Virtual Workshops to Advance Research Translation
Mon, 10/19/2026 - 11:38am
Four-part virtual series will help faculty, staff and students explore ways to move research discoveries into real-world applications
The University of Southern Mississippi’s Office of Innovation Management is partnering with Jackson State University and VentureWell to offer a four-part
virtual workshop series focused on strengthening research translation, innovation,
entrepreneurship and collaboration across university communities.
The Take Your Research Further: NSF ART Virtual Workshop Series will help participants
explore industry needs, communicate the value and impact of their research, and build
partnerships with industry and community organizations. All sessions will be held
virtually from noon to 2 p.m. Central time.
The series is open to faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral
researchers, administrators and other members of the innovation ecosystem, regardless
of discipline or previous experience with innovation and entrepreneurship. Participants
may attend one workshop or the entire series.
“Research translation is really about creating a pathway from discovery to impact.
Through our NSF ART initiative, we are working to give faculty, staff and students
the tools, connections and confidence to think beyond the research itself and consider
who could benefit from it, how it can be applied, and what partnerships are needed
to move an idea forward. Our partnership with VentureWell allows us to bring practical
translational research training directly to our university communities and continue
building a stronger culture of innovation across Mississippi,” said Natalie Guess,
assistant director of innovation and impact.
Research translation does not necessarily mean starting a company. It can include
commercialization, licensing, industry partnerships, community implementation, policy
application, technology transfer and other pathways that move discoveries into use.
The workshops will guide participants through a progression of topics, beginning with
institutional research translation across key sectors, followed by building an innovation
and entrepreneurship ecosystem, communicating research impact, and developing partnerships
with industry and community organizations.
VentureWell brings experience in innovation and commercialization education, with
programs emphasizing business-model development, stakeholder engagement, market discovery,
strategic partnerships and moving science and technology from research environments
toward application.
The series supports the goals of the National Science Foundation’s Accelerating Research
Translation (ART) initiative by helping build the knowledge, skills, relationships
and institutional culture needed to move research beyond traditional academic outcomes
toward real-world application and impact.
At Southern Miss, ART is part of a broader effort to build a culture of research translation
and innovation. Through the initiative, the university is developing commercial pathways
for technologies, expanding training, supporting Seed Translation Research Projects,
strengthening I-Corps programming, engaging students and advancing regional innovation
clusters.
Ultimately, the goal is to help researchers consider potential impact earlier in the
research process by identifying who could benefit from their work, what problems it
could solve, who needs to be involved and how discoveries can move from an idea into
practical use.
Workshop Schedule and Registration
All workshops will be held virtually from noon to 2 p.m. Central time.
Friday, Oct. 30, 2026
Aligning the Institutional Research Translation Process Within Key Research Translation
Sectors
Register for the Oct. 30 workshop
Friday, Nov. 20, 2026
Contributing to an I&E Ecosystem
Register for the Nov. 20 workshop
Friday, Feb. 19, 2027
Communicating Research Impact
Register for the Feb. 19 workshop
Friday, March 26, 2027
Partnering With Industry and Community
Register for the March 26 workshop
For more information, contact the Office of Innovation Management at oimFREEMississippi.