05/07/2019
Innovate Sullivan - Student Crash Course and Innovation Space Enhancement Project:
- Crash Course Laptops
- Crash Course Seating
- Maker Space Ventilation
- Innovation Space Promotion
- Electronic Door Security
The Student Crash Course and Innovation Space Enhancement will add to our ability to play a major role in turning our small town, rural America region on its head, making it a talent attractor, rather than a talent loss statistic. Based on very favorable student and teacher attendance and feedback from the 2018 app coding crash courses plus the overwhelming support for the same plus new crash courses this year, this enhancement will help us to provide the tools to meet those demands and boost our local talent in 2019 and beyond.
Most startup and innovation districts try to partner with research universities for funding and to become a tech startup hotbed. That's fine, but that model is becoming commoditized and typical. Part of turning Sullivan County on its 'talent head' means a focus on the virtues of small town / rural life, including the ability to start and grow your 21st-century business right here. We should never try to be the same as the bigger cities and densely populated counties. People live in small-town, rural America for a reason - they don't like the hustle and bustle. So, let's play on that and be the leader in small-town, rural transformation. Partnering with each school corporation in Sullivan County, Wabash Valley Community Foundation, IvyTech, the City of Sullivan, Sullivan County Redevelopment Commission, Hoosier Energy and working with Midland Institute's High School CEO program gives us the right ingredients to leverage the assets and strengths we already have for making lasting change for the future in our region of rural America.
Think about these questions:
What are we trying to protect? Our great way of small town, rural life? Our small business owners? Loss of our young talent to bigger cities?
If so, what are our threats to those? What are we afraid of? High paying jobs far away? Losing our best talent to those jobs?
And how comfortable are we with our ability to detect those threats and respond before it's too late? Not some professor or labor statistics professional, but you and me. How comfortable are we, right now as a local resident and leader - to know what is going on out there and how to keep up? If 'opportunities' in big cities are taking our talent away from us, is that critical?
We believe it is very critical for the future of Sullivan County. Let's work together and collaborate to implement 21st-century solutions today.
What results do should we anticipated?
With eighteen crash courses planned for 2019 and early 2020 we anticipate even more interest in careers that can be started and sustained within Sullivan County. This enhancement will help meet the requirements of a collaborative innovation and learning space designed just for that purpose.
Enhanced community pride comes from the ability to live, work and play right here. We are creating the right opportunities for our younger generation and adults to gain that pride through more fast-paced hands-on crash courses and the game-changing innovation space due to open very soon.
We also believe that 21st-century economic development involves local 21st-century opportunities to learn, collaborate and develop businesses leading to better talent retention and a long-lasting curb of our small town, rural economic decline.
Results of these enhancements should be revealed by:
1.) Increased realization of being able to live, work and play right here.
2.) Increased interest in 21st-century careers and local startup companies that can lead to of curb in poverty.
3.) Putting Sullivan County on the map through an intentional focus to build and support a culture of life-long learning, growth and true community empowerment.
4.) Enhanced, long-lasting community growth and pride through all the above.
David Dubree
Innovate Sullivan – Powered by Launch Terre Haute
