The partnership between a trio of essential cogs in Utah’s economic future — government, higher education and the private industry — is now measurably tighter.
Representatives from all three sectors are now celebrating Wednesday’s launch of The Nucleus Institute — a first-of-its-kind initiative committed to a shared vision: innovation through collaboration.
Working with Utah’s System of Higher Education, The Nucleus Institute hopes to function as a hub for Beehive State innovation — speeding up the path that starts with ideas and ends with solutions that can benefit the entire state.
During Wednesday’s launch — aptly staged at a Salt Lake City coworking office space — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox spoke of the shared power of the state, higher education and the private sector collaborating to identify and tackle present-day challenges.
“When those three institutions are able to work together, we can solve those problems — and we can do it in a way that blesses the lives around us,” he said.
The solutions to the country’s greatest challenges, the governor added, will not be found via regulation — but by innovation.
“If we really care about decarbonizing our atmosphere; if we care about the environment; and if we care about the poor, we have to build — we have to innovate in this space,” said Cox.
“Nucleus is going to help us do that.”
The new innovation hub is designed to connect students, mentors and researchers to “high-impact opportunities — bridging the gap between idea and execution,” according to Nucleus.
“It addresses early-stage funding challenges, helping research and startups move from concept to market.
The Nucleus Institute will be anchored by Convergence Hall — a new state-owned complex at The Point in Draper — that will allow for in-person collaborative environments.
The $40 million Utah Innovation Fund that supports deep-tech startups in Utah is being rebranded as the Nucleus Fund, according to the institute.
Meanwhile, the Utah Innovation Center, now called “Nucleus Grow,” joins the institute in guiding research from Utah’s campuses to the marketplace.
“By bringing these programs together, Nucleus provides the tools and partnerships Utah needs to transform ideas into industries,” according to the institute.
Also, Talent Ready Utah, in partnership with Nucleus and the Utah System of Higher Education, launched Talent Hub, the state’s new, unified platform for internships, apprenticeships and employment.
Nucleus’ goal: Matching talent with opportunities
The Nucleus Institute’s executive director Jefferson Moss noted Wednesday that the new initiative is designed to facilitate statewide coordination between all partners.
“We wanted to make sure that Nucleus was not seen as just a Wasatch Front thing,” said Moss.
The Nucleus Institute, he added, was created to better convene government, education and industry.
The Institute’s mission: Solve “some of the biggest problems that we face in the world today — and, at the same time, (ask) how do we make sure that we’re driving a bigger economic impact to the state of Utah?”
The Nucleus Institute operates on five key pillars designed to support ideas, talent and progress: Connections. Commercialization. Funding. Solutions. And, finally, Spaces.
“Each of these plays a very important role in driving the next generation; the next innovation economy for the state of Utah,” said Moss.
Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Geoffrey Landward said it’s the duty of the state’s higher education institutions to fuel economic opportunities and growth in Utah.
Landward said he’s often asked what higher education in Utah looks like for the future.
“And what it looks like is this: A true partnership with industry, with education, and understanding the needs of the state and the needs of the future.”
Nucleus offers an “innovative approach” to ensure such collaborations.
The future of higher education goes beyond simply creating a workforce, said Landward. It’s about “creating discoveries, creating open industries and driving the economy with education as a partner.”
University of Utah President Taylor Randall spoke Wednesday of witnessing hundreds of innovative ideas take form each year at the school’s Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute.
It’s an energetic, collaborative space.
But many of those ideas struggle to move beyond the student lab and into the marketplace to improve lives.
Those innovators and ideas need an accelerator such as Nucleus, said Randall.
Randall said the university is “absolutely thrilled” to partner with The Nucleus Institute. Future collaborations between all partnering in the initiative will “make the magic in this ecosystem — and accelerate us to new and better things.”
Lawmaker and educator Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, said The Nucleus Institute will help future generations of innovators “problem-solve in innovative, meaningful, fundamental ways.”
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