>newground
The paint might not be dry, and they’re still missing a wall at the Evan Bayh Center for Economic Development, but IU’s director of federal relations John Walda has high expectations for the center and its student-oriented intern program. Its internship opportunities, he says, “will expose students to the real world of business.”
The Evan Bayh Center for Economic Development is located in the Indiana University Emerging Technologies Center (ETC)—a business incubator and accelerator for life sciences, biotechnology, and bioinformatics companies.
Companies housed at the ETC—which is owned and operated by the Advanced Research and Technology Institute of Indiana University (ARTI)—will benefit from direct contact with IU and the resources and support of the Indiana business community. The ETC’s mission is to encourage economic growth through partnerships between Indiana University and the business world.
“The Emerging Technologies Center plays a vital role in our shared vision of Indiana’s economic future,” said Indiana Senator Evan Bayh. “Creating an economy driven by innovation can create thousands of high-tech jobs that will keep our most talented and skilled Hoosiers at home.”
And these Hoosiers will pass on their knowledge to IU students via the Evan Bayh Center for Economic Development and its compensated internship program.
The Bayh Center’s purpose is twofold, says Walda: to provide a learning experience for IU students in areas of economic development, with a focus on intellectual property and entrepreneurism; and to do research that will lead to business start-ups and to the kind of economic climate that encourages them.
In particular, the intern program will connect students with the ETC’s tenants. Said ARTI President and CEO Mark Long, “We will establish a summer internship program for Indiana University students to work with entrepreneurial companies, observe how an incubator operates, and examine public policy as it pertains to economic development.”
According to Walda, Senator Bayh has played a key role in helping the ETC to obtain federal funds of over $2 million to aid in the purchase and renovation of the incubator’s downtown Indianapolis location. Because of the senator’s dedication and efforts toward the project, it seemed only fitting to name the center in appreciation.
“Senator Bayh is dedicated to the development of a knowledge-based economy and higher education in the state, and we honor that commitment with this designation,” said Gerald Bepko, president of the ARTI board of directors and former IU interim president.
The center is in its formative stages right now, but its future is full of possibilities. The newness of the building and of the program (its first intern started work September 1) hasn’t clouded Walda’s visions of the future. He hopes someday to include other schools from the university besides the Kelley School of Business, such as the law schools.
And Walda expects that eventually the Evan Bayh Center for Economic Development will create a network of former interns who will involve themselves at every level of Indiana's business community. From the employee, to the investor, to the developer, these future businesspeople will help strengthen Indiana's economy and plant it firmly at the forefront of technological advancement.
>Robert Simic
Read more about Advanced Research and Technologies Institute, the Evan Bayh Center, and the Emerging Technologies Center.