NDSU Innovation Studio opens in Fargo

By Andrew Weeks

FARGO, N.D. • Those looking to start their own business have a new resource in Fargo.

The Innovation Studio inside the NDSU Startup Incubator, located at the North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park, opened in August and provides space, technology and collaboration. The latter being perhaps the most important, said Brian Kalk, the park’s executive director.

The RTP opened in 1999, but Kalk said he’s surprised that many people still have never heard of it. The Innovation Studio elevates the facility and aims to help those with progressive business ideas bring them to life.

The Innovation Studio, some 8,000 square feet, was funded with $1.5 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and another $500,000 from local contributions. It houses a metalworking area, textiles lab, digital fabrication, woodworking and an electronics lab.

“At a lot of universities, we’re starting to see what’s called maker space, where you’ve got collaboration areas, where you’ve got metal shops with woodshops with textiles with 3D printing,” he said. “NDSU has those kinds of capabilities but they’re scattered around campus, and so we wanted to create one of those at the tech park.”

As the name suggests, the center is meant for those with innovative ideas, not necessarily for someone who already has a business or whose ideas do not stretch beyond the basics. If someone is looking to start a coffee shop, for instance, the center probably wouldn’t work for them — unless there was something technologically differ- ent about the new coffee shop. The center then might be interested in learning more about the idea, Kalk said.

“If there is something innovative that you’re doing, or doing something new to create more jobs in the marketplace, things like that,” he said. “It’s not carte blanche.”

The fruition of the center includes community partnerships, such as with Midco, one of the permanent tenants of the center. There’s even a room called the Midco Collaboration Room, so named because of the company’s financial contribution and the technology it provides for it.

“It’s open to the tenants of the park, it’s open to NDSU students, and is used by faculty,” said Erin Ostler, Midco’s vice president of business sales.

She describes it like this: “It really enables collaboration across the world, because of the actual technology that was installed. It’s a nice big area where we can open garage doors and have events, or just use it as a meeting room. Anybody can use it.”

Ostler said Midco is appreciative and excited to be part of the innovation center, and looks forward to seeing great ideas come to life through its use.

She said, “It’s ... where businesses, even students that are coming out of the university who are focused on technology, can have a home without having a lot of overhead expense and can work together with other businesses to find ways to succeed.” path as a sophomore, or maybe as a junior or senior, can start their career academic training pathway, so they can get to that final degree in a more timely fashion and in a more portable fashion.”

Richman said the school has been operating a facility with similar offerings for the past 25 years, but the new center will enhance and expand those offerings.

“It’ll be much larger and better designed, so we can provide more academic program areas, more academic clusters and just what we’re able to do. … Think of apprenticeships. Think of customized training, employers who need their employees trained. Think of new Americans improving their English skills and getting a skill in either allied health or manufacturing; all of those populations are being served today in our existing facility, but we’ll be able to broaden the scope of offerings. We’ll be able to increase these student opportunities with this new facility.”

Around 400 students are served daily in the current facility, according to Kim Nelson, executive director of the Alumni Foundation. The groundbreaking of the new center — in what once was a cornfield — happened in early July, she said. The site is 15 acres and will be able to better accommodate a larger and more diverse set of individuals.

“There are a variety of other individuals being served throughout the community within the high schools and this will allow us to bring those facilities together to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of course delivery,” Nelson said.

Besides around 25 private donors, some $10 million has been raised from public entities through federal grants and local government pledges, including a $1.5 million Economic Development Administration grant.

Richman said there are many things to look forward to with the new Career Innovation Center, but primarily its central focus is to enhance the workforce needs of the community. He said there already has been exceptional collaboration among many partners, and looks forward to that continuing even after the center opens.

“What I’m most excited about is the collaboration that we have seen since day one,” he said, referring to city, county and state leaders as well as superintendents from area school districts. “We couldn’t have done this by ourselves.”

He said the community is very well aware of the workforce challenges, and believe the center will help meet those challenges.

“This is going to help. It’s not going to solve the workforce issue, but it’s going to help to make the workforce situation bet- ter,” Richman said. “And their enthusiasm to join us to make sure that this happens, to provide support, to give dollars, that’s what excites me.”

He knows the results might not be noticed immediately, but within a few short years he believes change will be recognizable.

“It’s going to be great for students, providing more opportunities,” he said. “It’s going to be great for the workforce and the companies here; and it’s going to be great for the state of North Dakota with the economic enhancement that will be created for a better workforce.”