Technology Park to be built at University of Connecticut will create jobs
Will carry out additive manufacturing, nanotechnology and digital innovation
University officials and architects have unveiled plans for a new technology park on the campus of the University of Connecticut in the US. The aim is to raise the profile of the University as a research centre and help it compete more aggressively for grants and research contracts.
The 900,000ft2 University of Connecticut Technology Park will be built on 300 acres over the next 10–15 years on the North Campus. The ultimate goal is to divide the space into three clusters of buildings connected by footpaths.
An initial facility of 125,000ft2, the Innovation Partnership Building, should be completed by 2015. Funded by an allocation of US$170m in state bonds, this building will house research equipment, cleanrooms containing flexible-use labs and business incubator space.
“This has been a hope for some time, and it will soon become a reality,” said Mary Holz-Clause, the University’s vice president for economic development. “The Tech Park will be another way to use the strength of the University of Connecticut as a research institution to feed innovation and create jobs both in the region and throughout the state in the years ahead.”
The kind of work envisioned for the tech park includes additive manufacturing, nanotechnology and digital innovation. About 8,000 companies involved in this kind of work are within two hours’ drive of the park. Ultimately the goal is for the project to attract partnerships and draw innovative companies and researchers from around the globe.
It is estimated that the park will create between 1,000 and 1,300 jobs in its first decade.
