Notre Dame launches center for civic innovation • Northwest Indiana Business Magazine
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Notre Dame launches center for civic innovation

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The University of Notre Dame College of Engineering has created a new center for civic innovation in partnership with the Office of Research, Center for Social Concerns and IDEA Center.

The college said it’s part of an effort to find innovative solutions to pressing civic issues and improve quality of life and place in St. Joseph and Elkhart counties. The center will facilitate partnerships between Notre Dame and local stakeholders, including schools, businesses, nonprofits and local governments, to innovate solutions around issues ranging from safe and affordable housing to lighting and stormwater management.

The university already partners with South Bend around the MetroLab Network, a consortium of 35 city-university partnerships focused on bringing data, analytics and innovation to city government as part of the White House’s Smart Cities Initiative.

The new center will build on that relationship in three key ways, according to Jay Brockman, associate dean of community engagement and experiential learning in the College of Engineering and director of the new center.

• It will broaden the relationship to include Elkhart, an industrial and creative hub and home to the booming recreational vehicle industry, in addition to other parts of St. Joseph and Elkhart counties.

• It will work with other campus and research centers to establish connections and open new initiatives focused on the local community.

• It will expand upon the model of an “educational ecosystem” piloted by the Notre Dame-backed Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem.

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