The Tech Exploration Lab
Where students build real things with real technology on real problems.
The Tech Exploration Lab connects students from across campus with industry partners, researchers, and alumni to explore, build, and commercialize ideas at the intersection of emerging technologies and real-world challenges.
We are applied — not theoretical. We build, test, and translate.
What We Do
We are not a classroom, an accelerator, or a consulting shop. We are an early-stage activation engine — the place where a technical idea gets its first commercial stress test, and where a business insight gets its first technical proof of concept.
We work in two directions: –
- Students bring ideas and we help them find out if they’re worth building — through structured programs, industry mentorship, and hands-on experimentation.
- Industry partners, researchers, campus partners, and faculty bring real problems and early-stage technologies and we put student teams to work exploring, prototyping, and making the commercial case.
The technologies we work with are real and evolving — spatial computing, autonomous systems, applied AI, computer vision, and whatever comes next. The problems are real too. We don’t simulate challenges; we work on actual questions that actual organizations are trying to answer.
Everything culminates at Demo Night — our bi-annual showcase where student ventures, industry innovations, and research-to-market concepts present what they’ve built to the innovation community.
Who It’s For
Students Explore emerging technology, build an early venture, or work on real industry and research challenges. From Open Labs and Build Nights to the Venture Pathway and Applied Industry and Research Innovation projects — there’s a place for you here.
[Start Here →]
Industry Partners Bring a real problem, anchor a challenge or hackathon, or sponsor innovation. A low-risk way to explore what’s possible with AI and emerging technologies — with the student talent who will build what’s next.
[Work With Us →]
Researchers & Faculty Surface challenges in your domain and activate student teams to build toward solutions. Or bring early-stage research with commercial potential and let us help you explore whether it can go somewhere.
[Explore Research Translation →]
Alumni Mentor teams, bring a venture, join the Technology & Innovation Circle, or give to the Lab. Stay connected to what’s being built — and help shape what comes next.
[Get Involved →]
What People Are Saying
“Working on DermaVision through the Tech Exploration Lab has been one of my most meaningful experiences at UW–Madison. The Lab connected me with peers passionate about AI and healthcare, provided access to advanced tools and mentorship, and helped me turn an early idea into real progress. It’s more than a lab — it’s a launchpad.” — UW–Madison Student Innovator
“The Lab is unique in that it connects students from across campus with advanced tools and industry mentorship to rapidly prototype and gain essential skills for an increasingly AI-driven world. It’s exciting to watch entrepreneurial ideas develop, and there is significant value in bringing the best of Google’s AI to support students’ exploration.” — Kristin Storhoff, Google
“I came to the UW Tech Exploration Lab to mentor, but left with momentum. The Lab gave me the space — and the spark — to test a wellness idea I’d been quietly incubating. Working with sharp, driven students helped turn that early vision into a viable concept. It was a powerful reminder that innovation thrives on curiosity, collaboration, and a little Badger grit.” — UW Alum and Lab Mentor
About the UW Tech Exploration Lab
The UW Tech Exploration Lab, led by the Wisconsin School of Business in collaboration with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, is where ideas and emerging technologies become real-world innovations and ventures.
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