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Linking Utah's Innovation Community
Bioinnovations Gateway
New “BioInnovations Gateway” (BiG) will “incubate” start-up companies while students receive valuable real-world training
Listen to a podcast interview with BiG director Dr. Suzanne Winters (Nov. 2010).
Read the Deseret News column on BiG by John Florez (Nov. 2, 2009).
Known for its leadership in life-sciences innovation, Utah is launching one of the first projects of its kind in the nation. A new high-technology business incubation facility designed to spur economic development and enhance the training of Utah’s life sciences workforce held its grand opening in Salt Lake City Oct. 27, 2009. The BioInnovations Gateway (BiG) is an incubator for emerging biotech and medical device companies, a high-tech training facility for the next generation of bio-innovators, and a contract research resource for Utah’s life science industry.
Located within the Granite Technical Institute (GTI) at 2500 South State Street in Salt Lake City, BiG will support up to seven resident companies, providing access to state-of-the-art biotech, and biomanufacturing, and engineering design and prototyping equipment. In a unique approach compared to incubators nationally, students will work side-by-side resident company staff. In BiG, students from the GTI and Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) Biotechnology/Biomanufacturing programs will earn high school and college degree credit.
The main objectives of BiG are:
- To provide a competitive edge to early-stage life science companies by providing access to state-of-the-art space, equipment, and talent in a cost-effective manner
- To serve as an academic training ground in which students can develop creative thinking and biotech work skills in a product-driven environment
“BiG will give students credible, meaningful work experience, and provide them with direct and constant interaction with company staff working on real-life business projects,” said State Science Advisor Dr. Tamara Goetz of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). “Students will learn what an entrepreneur sees, hears, and lives everyday in a start-up environment. That’s invaluable and will help Utah develop the next generation of innovators.”
The retrofitted facility represents 25,000 square feet of space. Wet and dry labs, a clean room, offices, and meeting space are the main components. Initially BiG will offer internships to GTI and SLCC students. Going forward, BiG will partner with any undergraduate higher education institution to augment life science educational and training programs, according to Goetz.
Business incubation is an effective means toward technology-based economic development. According to a research study conducted for the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA), business incubators provide communities with significantly greater results at less cost than do any other type of public works infrastructure project. In the study of the economic impacts and federal costs of EDA construction program investments, researchers found that business incubators are the most effective means of creating jobs – more effective than roads and bridges, industrial parks, commercial buildings, and sewer and water projects. The study showed incubators provide up to 20 times more jobs than community infrastructure projects (e.g., water and sewer projects).
“BiG is a model for the next-generation non-profit business incubator,” said Suzanne Winters, Director of BiG. “Beside the potential job-creation benefit, it mutually benefits research-based training, life science start-up businesses, and educational activities through use of shared facilities, equipment, technical resources, and talent.”
Funding for the facility comes from multiple sources:
- A U.S. Department of Labor Community Based Job Training Grant
- A U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation and Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant. The grant application was coordinated by GOED.
- Granite School District (GSD)
- USTAR
“Granite School District has been a great partner. They have devoted staff resources and a high-quality building site,” Goetz said. “Sandi Hemmert, the school district lead on the project, has been instrumental at every turn. The district deserves a lot of credit for its vision, and its commitment to provide a meaningful experience for students and future workers.”
BiG is an experiment that has drawn national interest from the U.S. Department of Labor, National Science Foundation and many communities looking to stimulate technology-based economic development, Goetz said, noting that USTAR’s involvement was critical to launching the new facility. “USTAR’s financial commitment and the time Suzanne Winters has devoted to this project demonstrated to the federal funding sources the depth of statewide backing for the project.”
The Department of Labor, for example, specifically cited USTAR as a necessary partner to enable funding from the federal government, according to Goetz. “They really see USTAR as representing the voice of industry, and they regard the whole project as a possible model for the next generation of business incubation.”
Companies interested in learning more about BiG facilities and usage contracts should contact Suzanne Winters, suzannewinters@utah.gov, 385-646-4625.
For more details, visit the BiG Frequently Asked Questions page.
For more information on the EDA study, visit www.nbia.org/works.
Read more about BiG in the Salt Lake Tribune (April 26, 2009).