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WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
1819 Innovation Hub will connect students, faculty, business, and nonprofits
INSIDE:
Winter 2018
Volume 6 > LIGHTS program supports Appalachian entrepreneurs Issue 1 > Ohio Mathematics Initiative leading statewide mathematics reform > Fuel Economy: Selamet seeks to improve efficiency of gasoline engines > Inaugural In-Demand Jobs Week set for May 7-11 > Ohio announces the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness seal for Ohio high school graduates
Photo: Ohio University Campus WINTER 2018
3 Winter is not a time for hibernation. In higher education, it is truly a time to prepare for the future. Our winter issue of ConnectED carries that theme of preparation and its stories reflect the importance of being ready for the opportunities that lie ahead.
RED BORDERS
Two stories share that theme as they explore specific programs in higher education that help businesses grow. Ohio University’s LIGHTS program is helping entrepreneurs grow businesses in Appalachia, while the University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub will allow students to engage with industry, faculty, and not-for-profits to accelerate growth and creativity across many disciplines. Higher education leads economic growth in small and large ways, and it all begins with awareness and engagement. To that end, ODHE is collaborating with other state agencies on the first In-Demand Jobs Week, scheduled for May 7-11, 2018. The legislature created this annual awareness week to highlight emerging jobs in new areas of technology. And, in response to employers’ desire for new high school graduates to demonstrate certain skills important in the workplace, the Ohio Department of Education has worked with the Governor’s Office of WorkforceTransformation to create the OhioMeansJobsReadiness Seal that motivated students may have fixed to their high school diplomas when they demonstrate those skills in school, at work, or in their community. This issue’s stories are all part of our big-picture mission to keep students ConnectED to the needs of the workforce. We hope you enjoy it.
John Carey Chancellor, Ohio Department of Higher Education
LIGHTS program supports Appalachian entrepreneurs during first year of operations
The Leveraging Innovation Gateways and Hubs Toward Sustainability (LIGHTS) program has helped dozens of new and existing businesses.
Ohio Mathematics Initiative leading statewide mathematics reform
The Ohio Mathematics Initiative is a unique and collaborative effort across the mathematics community in Ohio’s colleges and universities.
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Inaugural In-Demand Jobs Week set for May 7-11
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When Worlds Collide
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The Ohio Legislature authorized the statewide awareness week in the biennial budget last year.
1819 Innovation Hub will connect students, faculty, business, and nonprofits.
Ohio Announces the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness seal for Ohio high school graduates to show workplace readiness The OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal is a formal designation students can earn on their high school diplomas and transcripts.
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LIGHTS program supports Appalachian entrepreneurs during first year of operations The Leveraging Innovation Gateways and Hubs
Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER)
Toward Sustainability (LIGHTS) program helped
program, serves a 28-county region in Ohio, West
dozens of new and existing businesses, launched
Virginia, and Kentucky. The university’s Innovation
entrepreneurship programs and developed a
Center in Athens and Spark 560 (formerly the
network of economic development partnerships
Muskingum
in Appalachia during its first year of operations,
Zanesville are the program hubs.
County
Business
Incubator)
in
the program reports. LIGHTS and its regional partners assisted 57 Celebrating its one-year anniversary, LIGHTS,
startup and existing business clients with 133
established by Ohio University in 2016 with a
employees during its first year. Those companies
$2 million grant from the Appalachian Regional
have revenues of more than $33 million, with
Commission’s Partnerships for Opportunities and
total annualized wages of $1.57 million. The
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5 Accomplishments during year one of the program include: •
LIGHTS and the Ross Foundation formed Mid-Ohio Valley Innovates, a network of local development districts, civic organizations, K-12 and higher education entities, library systems, philanthropic groups, and other community members interested in advancing innovation in the neighboring counties of Washington County, Ohio, and Wood County, W. Va.
•
In partnership with another Appalachian Regional
Commission-funded
program,
LIGHTS helped launch the Building Bridges to Careers Epicenter, which is now open with four clients in Marietta. The Epicenter is designed to connect high school and college students
with
entrepreneurs-in-residence.
LIGHTS assisted with grant writing, site selection and the implementation of best practices. The Epicenter hopes to expand its facility and feature a makerspace in future phases of the project. •
Construction of a new makerspace in the Athens community is under way, projected to open in early 2018. In addition, the Athens-
program also hosted 70 entrepreneurship and
based Innovation Center is expanding its 3D
making events with 1,688 participants.
printing and training capabilities this fall.
“The LIGHTS program is an example of our
•
LIGHTS assisted the Somerset Innovation
commitment to economic and quality of life
Gateway, Lawrence County and the Shawnee
change for Appalachia, which is one of my
State Business Accelerator with grant writing,
strategic priorities for Ohio (University),” said
feasibility study plans, and legal and business
President M. Duane Nellis. “By working to
consulting services to help develop and
strengthen our connection with the communities
advance economic development programs
we serve, we lead the way for innovation and
in these locations.
other strategic support.”
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“
“Having a shared vision of the region is much more powerful.” -Shmuel Roth •
Spark 560 and the IDEA Lab, a makerspace at Zane State College, implemented a joint partnership program, which allowed them to serve more Zanesville-area entrepreneurs. Zanesville hosted its first Startup Weekend, an event designed to help entrepreneurs work through business concepts and study market feasibility. Twelve business ideas were pitched, four teams were formed, and at least two are developing their project further, including by getting a product into local stores.
“LIGHTS has been a critical part of the experience here,” said Shmuel Roth, director of Spark 560. LIGHTS has provided funding, operational support, consulting services and expertise to clients on manufacturing and product design issues, Roth said. In addition, the Zanesville incubator has benefited from being part of a regional network of entrepreneurship programs that have provided new ideas and support for its efforts. “Having a shared vision of the region is much more powerful,” Roth said. LIGHTS has worked with a diverse group of entrepreneurs and businesses in the 28-county region, including a number of machine or fabrication shops and startups seeking to prototype and test new products, said Jennifer Simon, executive director of regional innovation for the LIGHTS program. The LIGHTS staff helps entrepreneurs understand and identify the correct market for their product ideas and connect them to the necessary resources and funding to move forward. The program not only works with new startups, but also existing businesses seeking to expand into new markets and reach different consumers, Simon said. “Across the region, people want to have a diversified economy,” Simon said. “They see the extractive industries as one part of the economic reality, but they see that without diversification, they will be continuously mired in low economic success. I see a lot of excitement over doing something new.” For more information about LIGHTS, visit www.lightsregionalinnovation.com. Contact: Andrea Gibson, (740) 597-2166, gibsona@ohio.edu. WINTER 2018
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The end idea is that the course is relevant mathematics, rigorous in content, but something the students can take with them and use in the real world.
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Chelle Younker, Chair of the Mathematics Department, Owens Community College
Rethinking mathematics courses, curricula and their relationships with other disciplines
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Too many students leave high school unprepared for the rigors of college-level math courses. Too many adult students are coming to college unprepared; remediation and catch-up are required. Often, the math courses students have to take are not relevant to the skills and knowledge they need for their career and academic goals, or students are placed into college algebra as a default course for transferability or because they are undecided on their majors. All of these slow academic progress and increase frustration, cost, and the higher risk of students dropping out of college completely. Enter the Ohio Mathematics Initiative, a unique, collaborative effort across the mathematics community in Ohio’s two-year and four-year public colleges that is making a difference in this critical area of higher education.
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Ohio Mathematics Initiative leading statewide mathematics reform
By establishing a cohesive network of professionals focused on key barriers for students, mathematics faculty from across Ohio have developed and endorsed three distinct pathways that are most relevant and meaningful for their individual areas of study and careers: •
Quantitative Reasoning (for students pursuing nonmathematics intensive fields of study)
•
STEM Preparation (for students following strict science and engineering careers); and
•
Statistics (for students pursuing fields of study in social sciences and allied health, among others.)
“Our network of mathematics chairs is important because this communicates a democratic process that is not driven top down, but rather by colleagues across the public universities and community colleges,” said Louis Casian, mathematics chair at The Ohio State University. Operating in coordination with the Department of Higher Education allows credible discussion across the public system and among colleagues for the best possible results and buy-in, according to Casian. Students benefit greatly because the work promotes consistency across the system and allows completed coursework to transfer from one school to another, speeding progress within the three pathways established by the math initiative.
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10 “The initiative doesn’t prescribe which pathway a student should follow, and they appreciate that there is a pathway that is tailored for where they are headed,” said Chelle Younker, chair of the Mathematics Department at Owens Community College. “It should be relevant to their program of study, so institutions decide what is most relevant to students. The end idea is that the course is relevant mathematics, rigorous in content, but something the students can take with them and use in the real world.” The formula for success is simple: student focused, faculty driven. Find common ground and appropriate learning outcomes for courses that prepare students and transfer across two-year and four-year public colleges and universities, as well as promote students’ active learning and faculty’s innovative pedagogical methods. The progress has been steady, and the results are promising. For example, seven Quantitative Reasoning courses have been developed, reviewed, and accepted for transferability across public higher education in Ohio. According to Casian, students perform better when they are happier, and early indications are very encouraging. “Faculty involvement in the change process has been very positive, and students have been happier with what is in the classroom,” Casian said, adding that many states are already trying to emulate what Ohio has been doing. Continued collaboration between secondary and higher education sectors, as well as between the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Higher Education, will help assure that the pipeline of high school students will have the proficiencies and applicable skills necessary to be successful in a college-level mathematics course. This is of critical importance to students moving efficiently from high school to higher education, workforce, and beyond. Students’ sense of mathematics as an opportunity for their futures will play a key role in the attainment of degree and meaningful credentials, and in Ohio’s ability to provide workers for future jobs that will require both technical and holistic skills.
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Inaugural In-Demand Jobs Week set for May 7-11
• For students and job-seekers, In-Demand Jobs Week is an opportunity to learn more through local events and activities about the reward and highdemand careers available regionally.
At the urging of Ohio business leaders and with the cooperation and leadership of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, a new awareness week to promote “In-Demand Jobs” will be observed every year in May. The Ohio Legislature authorized the statewide awareness week in the biennial budget last year. May 7-11, 2018 will be the first observation of InDemand Jobs Week, with the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Higher Education joining businesses statewide and a collection of other agencies, including the Department of Job and Family Services. Chancellor John Carey is urging higher education leaders to get involved to showcase the role higher education plays in preparing the workforce and enabling prosperity for Ohio families. “Universities and community colleges have an impact locally, regionally, and beyond, and it’s so important to focus on helping students find direction through internships, apprenticeships, and early experience,” Carey said. Workforce leaders, aware that emerging technologies are creating enormous changes in the skills needed by tomorrow’s workers, often predict skills gaps among workers and the need for workers to be flexible, adaptable and ready to acquire new knowledge and skills in real time. In-Demand Jobs Week was created to inspire students to learn about careers in emerging fields.
• For secondary and postsecondary educators, In-Demand Jobs Week is an opportunity to inspire students by focusing on in-demand careers and pathways in the classroom and beyond. • For employers and workforce professionals, In-Demand Jobs Week is an opportunity to open doors to students and job-seekers to increase interest in local jobs and build a talent pipeline. • For communities, In-Demand Jobs Week is an opportunity to identify like-minded stakeholders to partner, plan events, and increase awareness about jobs available in the community. Educators are uniquely positioned to help guide students as they pursue career pathways. As May approaches, college leaders, particularly those in touch with training students in the use of emerging technologies, are encouraged to work with local business and workforce leaders and encourage them to open their doors to students and staff. “By building strong relationships and collaborating with local business and workforce leaders, you and your community will be better positioned to help students launch successful careers,” said Ryan Burgess, director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation. A consortium of organizations has been working with Burgess’ office to prepare a host of activities for the awareness week in May. Look for details coming to campus career services offices in the weeks ahead. For more information, visit http://omj.ohio.gov/indemandjobsweek. WINTER 2018
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WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
By Matt Koesters
1819 Innovation Hub will connect students, faculty, business, and nonprofits
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13 Photos by Andrew Higley/UC Creative Services
T
he intersection of academia and industry in Cincinnati now has a new address: 2900 Reading Road. That’s where you’ll find the University of Cincinnati’s new front door to the community — the 1819 Innovation Hub. Named for the year of UC’s founding, the 1819 Innovation Hub occupies a structure built in 1929 that once housed a Sears, Roebeck & Co. department store and later was home to UC Campus Services. But make no mistake: UC’s $38 million investment in the renovation of the cavernous, 133,000-square-foot building signals that the 1819 Innovation Hub is all about UC’s future. New UC Chief Innovation Officer David Adams also serves as the CEO of the UC Research Institute.
“We want to create an innovative environment that allows our students to engage with industry, with not-for-profits, with faculty, and with other students. Let this be the place where magic occurs,” said David Adams, CEO of the UC Research Institute. Adams, the former CEO of the University of Louisville’s Institute for Product Realization, WINTER 2018
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Visitors to the 1819 Innovation Hub will be struck by the openness of the lobby and the large staircase that provides access to each of the building’s upper floors.
Much of the building is still under construction, but the drywall on the lefthand side of this hallway on the fourth floor of the building will soon be replaced with glass. Behind the glass will be the offices of the UC Research Institute and the 1819 Innovation Hub building staff.
recently took the reins of UCRI. He also now serves as UC’s chief innovation officer and reports directly to UC President Neville Pinto. Adams and Pinto are already well aquainted, as Pinto hired Adams during the former’s tenure as University of Louisville interim president. Adams envisions the 1819 Innovation Hub becoming a creative supercollider, with students, faculty, and businesspeople from multiple disciplines working together to develop creative solutions to problems. “The vision is to make this as school-agnostic as possible,” said Adams. “The real power of this is having engineering students colliding with DAAP
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A welcome center will be constructed in the lobby of the 1819 Innovation Hub, viewed here from the ground floor entrance.
students, colliding with nursing students, colliding with business school students — how it occurs in the world that they’re going to get involved in — what kind of magic can occur because of the collisions that occur there?” Adams is no stranger to that kind of magic. His run at UofL’s institute was highlighted by a partnership with GE Appliances, culminating in the latter’s creation of the FirstBuild microfactory and makerspace on UofL’s campus. Adams sees UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub serving as the place where similar collaborations between UC and the Cincinnati business community will be catalyzed. Decisions are still being made on the final layout of each of the
first three floors of the building, but some features have already been determined. The first floor will house a 12,000-square-foot makerspace, where tools for creators of all skill levels — including hand tools, 3-D printers, laser cutters, and CNC machines — will be available for use. The second floor’s main features will include several classrooms, conference rooms, and a multipurpose space capable of accommodating up to 150 guests, making it the primary gathering area of the building. Although construction isn’t scheduled to be entirely complete until fall of 2018, the 1819 Innovation Hub will soon welcome its first tenant, the UC Simulation Center. Formed in partnership
15 The 1819 Innovation Hub building was originally constructed in 1929, and still retains some of its art deco charm.
“Let this be the place where magic occurs.” - David Adams
with Procter & Gamble, the center capitalizes on the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s computer simulation expertise to provide P&G with cost-effective, high-value, virtual modeling capabilities that are applied to the company’s products and manufacturing processes while developing a talent pipeline for future recruitment. The UC Simulation Center will be a neighbor to UCRI and 1819 building staff on the fourth floor of the Innovation Hub. Also the result of a partnership between P&G and UC, the Live Well Collaborative will set up shop on the Innovation Hub’s third floor. The Collaborative
facilitates connections between industry and academia, bringing together multidisciplinary teams of students and faculty that work together on semester-long studio projects for industry partners such as Boeing, P&G, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The 1819 Innovation Hub will serve as one of the crown jewels of the Uptown Innovation Corridor, the vision of the Uptown Consortium. “UC faculty, researchers, students, and staff advance the work of the Uptown Innovation Corridor through their future-facing research and community partnerships,” said Beth Robinson, Up-
town Consortium president and CEO. “That’s one reason why the Uptown Consortium’s oversight of the corridor’s development is so fulfilling: It’s a community effort. As a flagship in the corridor, the 1819 Innovation Hub is a great example of how multi-disciplinary, solution-based collaborations with our Uptown community will continue to shape a better tomorrow.” The 1819 Innovation Hub will have as its neighbor a new, $110 million National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health research facility. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its plans for the facility in mid-July.
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OHIO ANNOUNCES THE OHIOMEANSJOBS-READINESS SEAL FOR OHIO HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO SHOW WORKPLACE READINESS Ohio high school students now can earn
“Work ethic and resiliency are essential
recognition by showing they are prepared
to success no matter what your education
to contribute to the workplace and their
level or where you are in life,” said Ohio
communities. The OhioMeansJobs-Readiness
Department of Higher Education Chancellor
Seal is a formal designation students can earn
John Carey. “The OhioMeansJobs-Readiness
on their high school diplomas and transcripts
Seal will equip high school students to
indicating they have the personal strengths,
adapt to the rapidly changing workforce
strong work ethic and professional experience
and to stand out with a much-in-demand
that businesses need.
credential.”
“The 21st century workplace is rapidly
“Ohio businesses have expressed
changing, and businesses need to know
concern about a lack of soft skills among
graduates are leaving high school with job-
applicants,” said Ryan Burgess, Director
ready professional skills,” said Paolo DeMaria,
of the Governor’s Office of Workforce
superintendent of public instruction. “Along
Transformation. “The OhioMeansJobs-
with Ohio businesses, our team identified
Readiness Seal will help Ohio’s graduates
essential skills for workplace success and
demonstrate to businesses that they have
developed the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal
the skills necessary to succeed in the 21st
for students to demonstrate those attributes.”
century workplace.”
To earn the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness
Established by the Ohio Legislature under
Seal, motivated high school students must
House Bill 49, the Ohio Department of
demonstrate certain professional skills required
Education, Governor’s Office of Workforce
for success in the workplace. Students work
Transformation, and Ohio Department of
with at least three experienced and trusted
Higher Education identified an initial list
mentors who validate the demonstration of
of professional skills based on reports by
these skills in school, work, or the community. WINTER 2018
17 “The OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal will help Ohio’s graduates demonstrate to businesses that they have the skills necessary to succeed -Ryan Burgess, in the 21st century workplace.” Director for the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation
Paolo DeMaria, state superintendent of public instruction (pictured in the foreground), Ryan Burgess, director for the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation (center) and John Carey, chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education watch a presentation on LCCC’s Retooling Adults for Manufacturing Programs (RAMP), Aug. 30, 2016. Eric Bonzar — The Morning Journal
the National Association of Colleges and
thinking and problem-solving, leadership,
Employers, in partnership with The Conference
creativity and innovation, good oral and written
Board, Partnership for 21st Century Skills,
communication skills, an understanding of
Society for Human Resource Management and
digital technology, global and intercultural
Corporate Voices for Working Families.
fluency, and career management.
In addition, state partners surveyed Ohio’s
The OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal is
business community to select the most
available for the graduating classes of 2018 and
essential or important skills for workplace
beyond and will be printed directly on Ohio
success. Through the survey, business
diplomas and transcripts. The seal also counts
leaders identified the 15 skills students must
toward graduation options for students in the
demonstrate to earn the seal. These skills
class of 2018.
include a commitment to being drug free, reliability, a strong work ethic, punctuality, discipline, teamwork and collaboration, professionalism, learning agility, critical
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19 Photo: Lakeland Community College
A special thank you to all of those who contributed stories and articles: LIGHTS program supports Appalachian entrepreneurs during first year of operations Andrea Gibson Shmuel Roth Ohio University Spark 560
Ohio Mathematics Initiative Leading Statewide Mathematics Reform Chelle Younker Louis Casian Owens Community College
The Ohio State University
Inaugural In-Demand Jobs Week set for May 7-11 Ryan Burgess The Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation
When Worlds Collide Matt Koesters University of Cincinnati
Andrew Higley/UC Creative Services Photos
Ohio Announces the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal for Ohio High School Graduates to Show Workplace Readiness Eric Bonzar — The Morning Journal Photos
Thank you for reading ConnectED. We appreciate any suggestions or ideas to improve this newsletter. We welcome story ideas, links to articles of interest, and news releases. Please send story ideas to Jeff Robinson at jrobinson@highered.ohio.gov.
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