Page 75 - Innovation Delaware 2018

EDUCATION/RESEARCH
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with space for research programs and clinics for the College of Health Sciences on the second through seventh floors. The top three floors will be leased “for business and public use,” Matt says. Those businesses do not necessarily have to be health-related, “but they have to provide some interaction with the university,” she says.
Two more major construction projects are now under way.
Chemours, which spun off from DuPont in 2015, is building a $150 million, 312,000-square-foot innovation center just to the south of completed structures on the campus. Chemours will move about 340 research and technician jobs from the Wilmington area to the STAR Campus when the building is completed in 2020.
To the west of the completed structures, the university is constructing the $156 million, six-story, 200,000-square-foot Biopharmaceutical Innovation Building, which will house the UD-based National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) and related businesses. NIIMBL’s mission, director Kelvin Lee says, is to develop technology that will help biopharmaceutical manufacturers produce drugs more reliably and get them to the patient faster. NIIMBL expects to move into the new building in January 2020.
Eventually, UD President DENNIS ASSANIS says, tenants
in the building will encompass the full spectrum of the biopharmaceutical industry — everything from researching and developing new drugs to manufacturing them and getting them to market.
Also in the works is the expansion and relocation of the Newark train station. When the project is completed next year, the station will be more accessible to the STAR Campus, making it even more attractive for businesses interested in locating in the area.
Meanwhile, the university is studying the feasibility of locating a hotel and conference center on the STAR Campus. Like the train station, the hotel would be another amenity that could add to the site’s appeal. In addition, Matt says, it could provide training opportunities for students in the university’s business and hotel and restaurant management programs.
The combination of train station, hotel and conference center, Assanis says, will make the campus “a nexus for innovation and engagement,” bringing together scientists, business leaders and government officials from everywhere between New York City and Washington, D.C. “It will catalyze this venue into a place where ideas are born.”
Slightly farther down the road, both chronologically and as construction continues, the campus will include a “Graduate City,” featuring housing for graduate students and others, Assanis says.
Even now, with much more room to grow, Horne marvels at STAR’s uniqueness. “You can’t find anything like it anywhere,” he says.
Assanis, just completing his second year as UD president, admits that “it’s pretty awesome” to oversee the development of the new campus. “It’s fantastic to see the vision become a reality in real time.” ID
TRENDS AND KEY FACTS
1. Delaware schools shape the next generation
of leaders. An increasing number of private schools around Delaware are focusing on service learning and other character-building experiences as part of their curriculum. Schools such as Salesianum and Tower Hill send students on service trips abroad as well as in local communities. Tower Hill’s class of 2016 logged 4,000 community service hours.
Sources: Delaware Today, Distinguished Gentleman,
Tower Hill School
2. Delaware’s universities see record enrollment.
Amid a national slump in college enrollment, the First State’s flagship institutions continue to thrive. While nearly 2.5 million fewer students enrolled nationwide during the 2017–18 academic year, both the University of Delaware and Delaware State University saw record numbers of new students come in. UD experienced a 3 percent jump over the past year, while DSU saw a 2 percent increase.
Source: Delaware Online
3. Certificate programs are on the rise. As a tight job market makes it difficult for employers to find highly qualified personnel, Delaware universities are investing in certificate programs to help professionals hone their qualifications. DSU has nearly 200 certificate programs in place and is hiring further personnel to expand its offerings. Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington provides seven specifically business-oriented certificate offerings. Certificate programs require as little as one or two semesters of coursework and are led by highly specialized experts in their fields, making them a quick talent pipeline for employers.
Source: Delaware Business Times
9,000 high school students are currently participating in the state’s 14 Pathways to Prosperity career programs.
138,371 students were enrolled in Delaware public schools in 2017–18, an 8.4 percent increase since 2009–10.
85.75 percent of the public school students who entered ninth grade in 2013–14 graduated in 2017 — a record result. ID
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