Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
Get ready to attend to The Binational Innovation Conference 2015 (INNO) in its 3rd year. This is a two-day conference that takes place the third Thursday and Friday in September each year. This year it falls on September 24 and 25, 2015.
The conference begins on Thursday at the Instituto Internacional de Estudios Superiores (IIES) in Reynosa, Mexico where they will emphasize academic presentations and speakers address the innovation theme for this year. The conference at IIES also has a student element that consists of academic poster presentations of research conducted by the students.
On Friday, the conference moves to South Texas College in McAllen, Texas and is focused on providing an economic overview for the region, speakers that address the selected theme for this year, and a panel of representatives from the Economic Development Corporations from the surrounding cities of McAllen, Edinburg, and Mission; and Starr County. Student presenters from IIES attend the conference at South Texas College, where they present their research and participate in a business innovation competition involving the innovation theme for that year.
The focus of the conference is on cross-border economic development within the region with a new innovation theme each year.
It is important to say that INNO is short for Innovation. When businesses think about increasing their market share or attracting new customers, their first thoughts are we must find new ways of conducting our operations to maximize our profits. Innovation is about coming up with new ideas that drive progress within a business or organization.
Mario Reyna, Dean, Division of Business & Technology of South Texas College told Texas Border Business, “The purpose of having this conference is to make the business community aware of growth opportunities, to spark thought and ideas that result in innovation and entrepreneurship. With the hope that this also drives economic development in the border region.”
He also pointed out that the need for this conference arose as the result of a binational relationship between South Texas College and the Instituto Internacional de Estudios Superiores (IIES). “The business programs at the two institutions of higher learning began to discuss how to integrate and promote economic development in the region.” He said, “They felt one of the best ways to educate and promote economic development was to create a two-day conference that was focused on innovation.”
Both institutions firmly believe that discussing what was new or innovative (products, infrastructure, national policy, etc.) would drive more cross-border understanding and relationships.
The impact of this conference has been effective in many aspects, primarily to educate the local business community on the current state of the economy in the region, with emphasis on the selected innovation theme. Dean Reyna stated, “Presenting innovation themes relevant to our region provides business owners and entrepreneurs with insight as to what is important to our local community and where growth opportunities may exist.” He pointed out that the presenters at the conference address topics around the five types of innovation as espoused by Schumpeter many years ago.
Joseph Schumpeter, a recognized economist in the 1900’s developed a Theory of Economic Development (1912/1934/1983).
In this theory he describes innovation as: 1) the launch of a new product, 2) the application of new methods of production or sales, 3) the opening of new markets not yet represented, 4) the acquisition of new sources of supply or semi-finished goods, and 5) the creation of a new industry structure (Sledzik, 2013). It is through these types of innovation and entrepreneurship that we are able to drive economic development in our region.
Dean Reyna explained that is why this conference is for any business leader, business owner, community resident, instructor, student that is interested in learning about the state of the economy in the region. In addition, he said, “The conference also helps to understand where new opportunities may exist, and networking with other business professionals.” He also stated that for those participants that need CPE or CEU hours these will be provided as a benefit of attending the conference.
The focus of the conference this year is on transportation innovation. He also said that the speakers this year will discuss aspects of cross border mobility. How are organizations innovating to improve the movement of product via aviation and maritime transportation, and overall mobility within the region.
More importantly in discussion will be key topics like how will the new 69 corridor drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development growth. Also, how the addition of the new Dock 16 at the Port of Brownsville will drive improvements and efficiencies.
Dean Reyna announced Keynote Speaker Elizabeth Suarez, Director of Aviation McAllen International Airport who will address aviation innovation and its impact on economic growth.
The conference in past years has drawn between 150 – 200 participants interested in hearing the state of the economy update and to understand where new opportunities for business growth exist.
For more information and to register for the conference go to www.southtexascollege.edu/info/inno or contact Rosemond Moore at ramoore@southtexascollege.edu.
Mrs. Rosemond Moore Program Chair, Accounting, Economics, & Business Administration at South Texas College contributed to this article. TBB
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