Rhode Island jobs grow from campus competition
Posted on June 5, 2017
The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC), in partnership with the University of Rhode Island (URI), is inviting interested partners to begin sharing concepts and ideas for an Innovation Campus in preparation for an RFP to be released later this year, which will boost Rhode Island jobs.
The Commerce Corporation has issued an Invitation for Expressions of Interest, with the goal of engendering initial ideas on how parties in industry and academia can come together to create a transformative Innovation Campus in Rhode Island. This competition will ultimately award funds from the $20 million bond issuance approved by Rhode Island’s voters in November 2016.
“This is another exciting step toward turning our vision for this Innovation Campus into jobs in Rhode Island,” said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “Over the coming months, we will be working relentlessly to ensure that we see truly transformational proposals come together.”
Rhode Island’s Innovation Campus is modeled in part on precedents of industry-academia collaboration at a number of facilities across the country and around the world, including the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, The Bridge at Cornell Tech, and the Tannery Innovation Center in Ontario, Canada.
“We’re looking forward to helping potential applicants understand our state’s remarkable assets and, ultimately, to increasing the amount of university and medical center research that gets translated into new economic activity and jobs for Rhode Islanders,” said Stefan Pryor, Rhode Island’s Secretary of Commerce.
“The University of Rhode Island is a major economic asset for the State of Rhode Island and continues to expand its research and development to support the State’s economic growth,” said David M. Dooley, president of the University of Rhode Island. “The university is well positioned to collaborate with private industry to innovate and produce cutting edge products and technology within an innovation campus.”
