Spaces & Hardware Labs
Dedicated prototyping and collaborative spaces located on the first floor of Bainer Hall.
Bainer Hall 1503: Main Center
The front door of the Student Startup Center. Drop in without a plan, idea, or appointment. Where cohorts meet, ENG 9 runs, and team breakouts happen. Also houses the VR lab.
Bainer Hall 1122: Team Coworking
Dedicated desks and collaborative workspaces for teams that need room to sprint. Open breakout tables, rolling whiteboards, and high-speed tech.
1124 Bainer & ESDC: Rapid Prototyping
Rapid physical prototyping studio equipped with Creality/Prusa 3D printers, Glowforge Pro laser cutter, electronics soldering, and testing benches.
Work at the SSC: Student Manager Program
The Center is run by roughly a dozen student managers alongside staff. Working here is itself a premier leadership pathway into the startup ecosystem. One academic year of student employment satisfies the Certificate in Entrepreneurship practicum requirement.
Partner Programs & Collaborations
The SSC works closely with leading innovation centers across UC Davis to connect students with specialized competitions, venture grants, and research studios.
Big Bang! & Little Bang!
Annual campus-wide business competition with $100K+ in cash prizes, alongside Entrepreneurship Academies and Business Development Fellows.
AI Studio & CITRIS Foundry
Applied AI research cohorts, edge compute hardware access, faculty seed funding, and cross-campus UC incubator networks.
Aggie Square & DRIVE Incubators
START programs, STAIR/ACE commercialization grants, Aggie Square health innovation hub, and intellectual property licensing.