The West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative at Grand Valley State University will serve as a hub for technology and product development assistance in the Grand Rapids area. The new initiative will also operate the Grand Rapids Product Development Center.
Grand Valley is joined in the initiative by its partners, the City of Grand Rapids, Van Andel Research Institute, Right Place, Inc., and Grand Rapids Community College. These partners are pooling their resources to improve the Grand Rapids area economy through the development of technology, particularly in the bio-technology industry.
The center, located on the fifth floor of Grand Valleys new Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, consists of wet-laboratory facilities, tissue culture labs, specialized research and development equipment such as fume hoods and autoclaves. The center also provides office space and conference facilities.
The initiative provides three primary services. The first is the provision of business start-up services that successfully launch new business ventures from platform technologies.
The Grand Rapids area has one of the strongest bio-technology clusters in the Midwest and we have the resources and facilities to assist in the commercialization of the extraordinary life science work that is being done here, said Matt Dugener, executive director of the initiative.
Secondly, it will provide access to valuable, existing technology. The initiative is currently negotiating technology transfer arrangements with national corporations and research institutions that will make new technology available to local firms. The third component is the provision of low-cost product development solutions through infrastructure that currently exists at Grand Valley State University and Grand Rapids Community College.
Conducting new product research and development is expensive and time-consuming. Our intent is to identify existing technologies that can be incorporated into Grand Rapids area firms and provide the necessary development facilities and expertise to assist in their commercial application. Linking our companies to existing new product innovations will keep development costs down and provide a potential financial jump start, Dugener said.
