Ten years ago, a $16.5 million donation from the Liu Family Foundation provided the base for the creation of Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (LILIE), a coworking and lab space designed to help students become innovators and start their own businesses. Now, the lab is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Managing the impact

The lab serves more than 1,600 students per year and supports over 100 innovative ventures annually, according to a Dec. 5 news release. Lilie has also helped Rice graduates kickstart more than 300 companies in its first decade.

Additional statistics include:
  • 89% of faculty members have started, bought or run a business at Rice University
  • 20+ standalone entrepreneurship skill building, speaker, competition and networking programs for students
  • 297 companies have been started by Rice graduates since 2015
  • 36 undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship-focused courses offered
According to the release, the Lilie network has also helped students raise $25 million to bring their ideas to market.

Quote of note


"By building this transformative platform for innovation and entrepreneurship, Rice has strengthened its standing as a launchpad of possibilities and ideas that place Houston at the forefront not just of energy, aerospace and medicine but as a global leader in digital technology, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy and biotechnology,” said the head of Lilie, Yael Hochberg.