January 30 — Towson University suspends all study abroad programming and university-related travel to China for spring 2020.

February 26 — Towson University suspends any and all upcoming university-related travel to Italy and Japan.

February 29 — Towson University begins recalling all faculty, staff and students who are currently abroad in Italy for the spring 2020 term.

March 5 — Three confirmed coronavirus cases in MD; Larry Hogan declares a state of emergency.

March 16 — Towson University telework policy begins; only “essential” employees allowed on-campus.

March 19 — University System of Maryland announces that all member universities begin the transition to distance learning for the remainder of the sSpring 2020 term.

As we all know, a lot has happened in the past three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People continue to isolate themselves and maintain social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. This has resulted in many organizations going virtual, including TU Incubator.

TU Incubator is a leader in EdTech; we’re no strangers to online learning. For years, we have been working with some of the greatest EdTech companies, giving us robust experiences to leverage in these troubled times.

Despite the closures in our offices the Venture Creation team is still going strong in supporting our local entrepreneurs and member companies, through virtual meetings and social media. Here is a helpful article by Executive Director of Entrepreneurship Patrick McQuown, about best practices for managing a startup during a crisis. Even some of our member companies started supporting their local community by offering free online webinar or discounted service. It’s even more important now that we support our member companies, especially the ones that are helping our educators and medical professionals.

Our team developed the Towson University StarTUp Accelerator as part of our mission to create opportunities for local entrepreneurs. The TU StarTUp Accelerator is an intensive eight-week, cohort-based fellowship where ventures take residency and work in a collaborative space accelerating their ventures. Spearheaded by Patrick McQuown, this is a perfect program for anyone looking to jump-start their career as an entrepreneur. Click here to find out more information about the TU StarTUp Accelerator.