A Program that Values Your Time as Much as Its Content

When I first heard of the Leadership Academy at UC Davis, I thought, Great: another conference where we hear the same textbook information on how to lead productive teams and how to work with difficult employees. I'm happy to say I was wrong.

We've all been to them, and in fairness sometimes there is a catch phrase that is new and insightful that we incorporate to our bag of tricks when working through certain situations. But something novel about the UC Leadership Academy almost immediately caught my attention, and I'm forever thankful it did!

Meet Our 2023 Big Bang! Finalists

The 23rd annual UC Davis business competition drew students and alumni from across campus, as well as from colleges and universities throughout California.

The 2023 Big Bang Business Competition's 17 finalist teams all have a co-founder affiliated with an institution of higher education in California. This year UC Davis, UCLA, Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo and the University of Southern California are represented.

The Power of Networks

New, radical, disruptive ideas have long been considered the foundation of innovation; but, according to Professor Andrew Hargadon, ideas need a network to be successful.  

Startups Make a Splash at Big Bang!

The UC Davis campus is always full of fresh ideas, but innovation was at an especially high pitch last Thursday during the 22nd annual Big Bang! Business Competition awards ceremony. Held in person for the first time since 2019, the ceremony presented over $100,000 in prize money and in-kind awards to early-stage startups in the food and agriculture, health, energy/sustainability, and social enterprise sectors. 

Ambercycle Receives $21.6M in Investment

Former Big Bang! winner AmberCycle has announced a $21.6 million investment to help convert end-of-life textile ‘waste’ into new yarns for apparel brands and manufacturers.

Congratulations, 2022 Big Bang! Finalists

Congratulations, 2022 Big Bang! Finalists Our 22nd annual business competition drew students and alumni from across UC Davis, as well as from colleges and universities throughout California. 

Meet our 16 finalist teams, which will vie for $90,000 in prizes. We'll announce the winners at the Awards Ceremony on May 26.