Innovation Campus Partnerships

This new statewide nonprofit launched in fall 2021 with the goal of connecting, informing and inspiring leaders across Kentucky’s regions, business sectors and stakeholder groups to strengthen the state’s capacity for innovation. A set of WKU-supported visits between researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Kentucky innovators in 2017 led to Kentucky becoming the first U.S. state accepted to MIT’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT REAP) the following year. AccelerateKY was established in its wake and is now headquartered at the Innovation Campus.

“The Innovation Campus provides an idea environment where creative and entrepreneurs can innovate and cross-pollinate in an unfettered ways,” said AccelerateKY Board President Rusty Justice, an entrepreneur from Pikeville, Kentucky. “It is a real asset to Kentucky’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.” For more information VISIT US HERE.

Formed in fall 2022, the Innovation Campus headquarters also houses a new Civic Imagination Incubator program, a partnership between WKU Potter College of Arts & Letters and the University of Southern California’s Civic Imagination Project. This eight-month pilot program will support six media creators based in Kentucky and surrounding states as they explore bringing civic imagination and building it into the stories they create.

“We are excited to launch the Civic Imagination Incubators with such committed and thoughtful partner,” said Dr. Sangita Shresthova, co-founder of the USC- Civic Imagination Project. “We look forward to seeing the stories, projects and imagination come alive, and are grateful that the Innovation Campus will give our folks the space to explore their creative projects.” For more information VISIT US HERE.

Kentucky to the World (KTW) announced its new location in the new Collaborative SmartSpace at the WKU Innovation Campus in December 2022. The Louisville-based KTW was recruited to be one of the Collaborative SmartSpace's initial tenants, sharing the region's innovations with the world.

"Kentucky to the World's new home will allow us to showcase the vibrancy of Bowling Green's community, economy and workforce," KTW President/CEO Shelly Zegart said. "Our goal is to inspire talented people to come from beyond our borders to find their futures-and stories about those futures-in Bowling Green and Kentucky." For more information VISIT US HERE.

Drawing on MIT’s legacy of media innovation and its deep commitment to open and accessible information, the MIT Open Documentary Lab brings storytellers, technologists, and scholars together to explore new documentary forms with a particular focus on collaborative, interactive and immersive storytelling. The organization had long run a fellowship program, but fellows were traditionally documentarians who were in residence in Massachusetts.

MIT worked with a non-profit housed at the WKU Innovation Campus – AccelerateKY – to establish the fellowship. Lamont “Jack” Pearley was the first recipient, a renowned folklorist and host of the weekly African American Folklorist segment on WKU Public Radio. Read more about the MIT Open Documentary Lab Kentucky Fellowship.

“I cannot think of a better or more deserving person than Lamont ‘Jack’ Pearley to be the inaugural recipient of the MIT Open Documentary Lab Fellowship,” said WKU Potter College Dean Dr. Terrance Brown. “His groundbreaking work in the areas of blues, folklore and community engagement provides impactful insight into diverse communities. I am honored to have him represent WKU in this project.” 

The South-Central Workforce Development Board announced in late 2021 the formation of the new Bowling Green Area Workforce Participation Task Force with full-time staff. The Task Force will envision, pilot, and enact a new program to increase workforce participation and bring new talent into the region to answer the continued demands of current and future employers.

“The WKU Innovation Campus is the perfect setting to invite problems solvers and creators into a conversation on how we can improve regional workforce participation,” said Jon Sowards, President and CEO of the South-Central Workforce Development Board. “The collaborative spirit of the lab will help the Workforce Participation Task Force attract the brightest minds in our community to develop solutions to meet the needs of employers and job seekers in our fast-growing and evolving economy.” For more information visit South Central Workforce.