Project will join individuals with local businesses to develop new products, businesses
According to a project leader, two Virginia higher education institutions are attempting to combine “farm feeling” and academic endeavors to launch new businesses and products in remote America.
According to a Hampden-Sydney news release, the SEED Innovation Hub is a collaboration between Longwood University and Hampden-Sydney College to promote creativity by bringing together the expertise and abilities of students, researchers, and regional companies.
One of the project frontrunners, Chris Kukk, the honors university professor at Longwood, claimed to have come up with the idea after seeing how ingenuity of remote farmers works.
” It’s a different type of innovation happening in rural areas, one that has n’t been fully tapped yet, … a kind of farm sense, like a MacGyverism”, Kukk said.
” In New York, if I needed a part, I could go to a community shop on the spot or, god forbid, move three blocks. But in most rural regions, there’s no local electronics shop within walking distance. He said that specifically farmers must come up with creative ways to fix a broken application right away.
According to the report, Hub organizers recently renovated an outdated store tower in Farmville to house the system.
That, local residents and students” will be able to system, experiment with firm ideas, participate in development courses, innovative boot camps, and ball competitions”, the news release states.
The gateway plans to offer 3- D printers, woodworking tools, sewing and jute machines, apparel making equipment, a smart welding station, video and photo equipment, computers with innovative software programs, group workspaces, and classrooms, according to its website.
Additionally, organizers plan to offer workshops and professional development, as well as educational camps on science and technology, the news release states.
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Even before the group had a place to meet, the idea just started happening by talking to people. For instance, one computer science major had an interest in drones, so Kukk matched him with a donor who would later become a partner.
In another case, a former dropout student wanted to enter the audio business. A local airport pilot wanted to install an audio system on his plane, which is where he ended up. The student has since started a brand-new business that is flourishing that he was able to hire his father and his uncle after working with the hub.
The building is scheduled to open its doors in the first quarter of this year.
According to a Longwood news release, the project’s funding comes from a$ 2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration through the American Rescue Plan, the economic development initiative GO Virginia, and other sources.
In order to create similar innovation hubs in their respective regions of the country, Longwood also received a$ 400, 000 grant from the National Science Foundation in partnership with Angelo State University in Texas, Independence Community College in Kansas, and Richard Bland College in Virginia.
The grant project’s objective is to “effectively address socio-economic underdevelopment in rural areas by utilizing local resources and a multi-state cohort model.”
Given the current social and economic climate, rural communities in the United States have experienced significantly higher levels of poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity since 2008, according to the grant. These communities must find creative ways to address these issues, according to the grant.
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