Sheboygan County Innovation Hub Feasibility Study Underway
Sheboygan, WI - An initiative to launch a network of innovation centers across the Midwest is moving forward in Sheboygan, with a decision by the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC), Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) and Lakeland University (LU) to support a feasibility study for a community-wide innovation hub in the FreshTech Innovation District south of Downtown Sheboygan.
Innovate2 combines university and college students, business leaders, entrepreneurs and other kinds of innovators through a progression of programs designed to help participants work together in ways that they might not be able to otherwise. Signature elements include Human Innovation Training, collaborative laboratories, and student-run businesses. An Innovate2 hub currently launching in Milwaukee will also contribute to the opportunities available to the Sheboygan initiative.
At its core, an innovation hub is an aggregation of different individuals and organizations that interact and collaborate to surface and take to market new ideas by:
- Creating collaborative communities with entrepreneurial individuals at the center.
- Attracting diverse community members with heterogeneous knowledge.
- Concentrate and amplify creativity and collaboration in physical space.
This Innovation Hub is one of a series of studies and initiatives launched under the FreshTech brand to create engaging, original programming to both unlock and connect the creatives, makers, originals, entrepreneurs, senior business leaders and investors in Sheboygan County. “The mission of FreshTech is to provide programming and coordination to invigorate our local innovation ecosystem,” stated Gary Dulmes, Chair of the SCEDC. “By partnering with an individual who has run such hubs, Lakeshore Technical College, Lakeland University, and employers we know we can create a vibrant exchange of ideas, business challenges, and technology that attracts talent.”
The study will take two to three months and will focus on understanding the specific talent retention and attraction, new product development and other needs of the community, building on the feedback received during the FreshTech Innovation district’s development.
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For more information:
Dr. Joseph Sheehan, Executive Director
Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation
920-946-376
Sheehan@SheboyganCountyEDC.com
Della Rucker, Co-Founder and COO
Econogy
513-288-6613
della@econogy.co
The Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) is a countywide private/public partnership, leading economic development efforts to improve the economic wellbeing and long-term prosperity of the businesses, residents, and communities of Sheboygan County, through collaborative retention, expansion and attraction efforts for business and employment development. The SCEDC leverages a variety of tools available to encourage business growth and job creation. Key performance indicators tapped by SCEDC track and measure businesses assisted and resources leveraged. By applying many tools to assist businesses and communities and help them succeed, SCEDC achieves increased economic prosperity for Sheboygan County.
