Where Big Ideas Come to Life

BY BETH BRAND

A UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE (UD) student created the touchscreen technology you may be using to read this. And, at this very moment, a UD student is probably working on something else—a gadget, app, pharmaceutical product—that will make your life better, easier, or healthier.

The University of Delaware is a place where big ideas come to life, where our students work alongside, investigate, learn, and are mentored by industry experts.

On UD’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus, students learn in-demand skills through internships, research projects, and co-ops with resident companies.

The soon-to-be-opened FinTech Innovation Hub is just one spot where our students will grow right along with an industry. Discover Bank plans to incubate community-minded fintech startups inside. There, they will be joined by the Delaware Small Business Development Center and spaces belonging to UD’s business and engineering colleges.

Just across the lawn, in the Ammon Pinizzotto Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center, students and faculty examine analytical solutions to the challenges inherent in manufacturing biopharmaceuticals. These complex medicines produced from living cells—from insulin to COVID- 19 vaccines—are highly effective, but extremely challenging to make. A new research partnership between UD and Waters Corporation, a pioneer in scientific measurement, has scientists from the Massachusettsbased company collaborating with some of UD’s best and brightest to find solutions.

At Christiana Care’s Gene Editing Institute on STAR Campus, student interns work alongside research scientists (some of whom are UD alumni) digging into critical projects to move promising technology forward. Students and alumni also team up in STAR’s Chemours Discovery Hub on everything from improving logistics on existing products to developing new clean energy solutions. Meanwhile, on the same campus, business students intern with the Blue Hen founders of Predictive Analytics Group, assisting the management consultancy with its data-driven forecasts that help companies minimize the risk of making a wrong decision.

For the companies, these student experiences can be valuable recruiting tools in a hot employment market.

DEGREES OF THE FUTURE

UD students train for degrees that meet the demands of not only the present but the future. Digital protection is vital in every industry, particularly areas of regional strength such as fintech and the defense sector. In Delaware, roughly 3,000 individuals work as cybersecurity and systems engineers, and many more are needed. UD is responding to this market need with the University’s new cybersecurity bachelor’s degree program, whifch will welcome its first students this fall. The program’s curriculum will prepare graduates with the foundational knowledge and skills to protect and secure the privacy of computer systems, networks, and data programs. Meanwhile, engineers of a different sort are already on a divergent, yet parallel employment path. The brick-and-mortar world is increasingly built on zeros and ones. Through models, virtual reality and visualizations, facilities can be virtually constructed before ground is broken. The work, done by construction engineers, helps identify potential problems, refine construction techniques, ensure safe and productive job sites, and facilitate success. Last year, UD granted its first undergraduate degrees in construction engineering and management. The major provides students with the foundation essential for professional licensure, valuable experience through co-op requirements, and formalized training in business essentials.

And, in the ever-expanding frontiers of health care, Blue Hens are answering the call. When you go to the doctor’s office or a lab for bloodwork, you meet a nurse or phlebotomist, who draws your blood. But the person you’ll probably never meet will be the first to know whether you have high cholesterol, diabetes, or a variety of other conditions. An estimated 60-70 percent of all decisions regarding a patient’s diagnosis, treatment, hospital admission, and discharge are based on the results of tests performed by the unsung health care heroes known as medical laboratory scientists. Yet, this work is in critically low supply with nearly 26,000 annual openings and a projected job growth of 11 percent this decade, a percentage faster than the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. UD is home to one of the country’s premier medical laboratory programs. Founded in 1949, the major maintains a legacy of academic strength paired with a concentrated focus on the cutting edge of technology.

Partner with UD and join our community powered by changemakers: https://www.udel.edu/research-innovation/star/ partnering-with-ud/

Beth Brand is vice president and university secretary at the University of Delaware.