{"666317":{"#nid":"666317","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Rahul Saxena Appointed CREATE-X Director","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERahul Saxena has been appointed as the director for Georgia Tech CREATE-X. Saxena has been a part of the CREATE-X team since 2019, when he was named associate director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ps:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/launch\/startup-launch\u0022\u003ELaunch program\u003C\/a\u003E. He became the interim director in 2021.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECREATE-X\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a faculty-led, student-focused initiative geared toward instilling entrepreneurial confidence in Georgia Tech students through the creation of startups.\u0026nbsp;Students in the program can take courses and participate in workshops to build business skills, build prototypes, and receive mentorship, funding, and in-kind services to support launching their own startup during the program\u2019s summer incubator, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ps:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/launch\/startup-launch\u0022\u003EStartup Launch\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPrior to joining the CREATE-X team, Saxena spent more than 20 years building and guiding multiple startup companies, working as a development engineer and an early-stage venture capitalist, and publishing several research papers on cardiovascular fluid mechanics and mechanical heart valves. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, his alma mater, Saxena studied mechanical engineering. He then earned a European master\u2019s degree from the Von Karman Institute for fluid dynamics and an MBA from Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow that he\u2019s the director of CREATE-X, Saxena wants to continue expanding awareness of the programs benefits to as many students as he can.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy passion for the program has only grown since I joined the team,\u201d Saxena said. \u201cOur students have the skills and creativity to build startups, and I want them to know that CREATE-X will not only help them take their ideas to market, but also instill an entrepreneurial mindset and confidence which will be a lifelong skill for them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESince CREATE-X began, more than 5,000 students have been involved, crossing 38 majors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESaxena said it\u2019s been an honor to be a part of so many students\u2019 entrepreneurial journey. Even after students graduate, Saxena still takes the time to give them advice and connect them to others in the Atlanta business community. That dedication to mentorship has also translated to the students who participate in the program. Founders continually reach out to Saxena to get involved with coaching students and helping the program where they can.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESaxena said he wants to continue building connections across campus and beyond, harnessing the wealth of knowledge, experience, skills and resources of Georgia Tech to help students be successful, regardless of their career pathway after graduation. He also wants to encourage those students that doubt they can create startups to try entrepreneurship as students, when the opportunity cost for them can be significantly lower.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCREATE-X is rapidly growing, launching more than 350 startups since we began in\u0026nbsp;2014. Rahul has a proven track record of success at CREATE-X, and I\u2019m confident that his continued leadership will foster even more growth,\u201d Raghupathy \u201cSiva\u201d Sivakumar, vice president of the Office of Commercialization at Georgia Tech. \u201cHe has a firm grasp on what students need to gain entrepreneurial confidence and launch successful startups, the dedication to go out on campus and connect with students and other stakeholders, and he has a broad skill set to tackle the challenges of overseeing one of our nation\u2019s largest student entrepreneurship platforms. We couldn\u2019t have picked a better champion for our program.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERahul Saxena, who joined the Georgia Tech CREATE-X team in 2019, has been appointed as the program\u0027s\u0026nbsp;director.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rahul Saxena, who joined the Georgia Tech CREATE-X team in 2019, \u00a0has been appointed as the program\u0027s\u00a0director.\u00a0"}],"uid":"36436","created_gmt":"2023-03-01 17:20:12","changed_gmt":"2023-05-16 21:36:59","author":"bdurham31","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-03-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-03-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"666316":{"id":"666316","type":"image","title":"Rahul Saxena at Founders\u0027 Forum","body":null,"created":"1677690799","gmt_created":"2023-03-01 17:13:19","changed":"1677691120","gmt_changed":"2023-03-01 17:18:40","alt":"Rahul Saxena, director of CREATE-X, presents the program to students at Founders\u0027 Forum","file":{"fid":"251937","name":"DSC_0090-1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_0090-1_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_0090-1_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":9538976,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC_0090-1_0.png?itok=S9gaSas_"}}},"media_ids":["666316"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"192255","name":"go-commercializationnews"},{"id":"192256","name":"go-commercializationreserach"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"192259","name":"cos-students"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBreanna Durham, marketing strategist for CREATE-X\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["breanna.durham@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}