Here’s a look at tech and innovation news from around Indiana:
—The University of Indianapolis today announced the biggest grant in its history, and it’s designed to close STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workforce gaps. This week, UIndy announced that it will launch the R.B. Annis School of Engineering thanks to a $5 million gift honoring the late Robert Annis, a Hoosier inventor and scientist.
University officials said in a statement that the grant will advance UIndy’s strategy to address the Midwest’s growing need for engineers and STEM talent by fusing creativity, problem solving, collaboration, and social responsibility with technical acumen—all qualities said to be held in high regard by Annis, an expert in magnetics and balancing instruments who was a trusted STEM adviser to many corporations during his lifetime.
—Digital marketing company Aprimo, which has a major customer-support operation in Indianapolis, announced last week that it has acquired Adam Software, the Belgian provider of enterprise digital asset management software. According to a press release, Adam’s technology will be integrated into Aprimo’s platform, allowing the company to both produce and publish content.
Aprimo believes the “new battleground” for marketers is on the user experience front, and CEO John Stammen said in a statement that the acquisition will give its customers the “enhanced ability to transform raw content into smart content.” The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed; however, included in the acquisiton is Van Gennep, a subsidiary of Adam that specializes in publishing and fulfillment. The entire Adam staff will be absorbed by Aprimo, and CEO Pieter Casneuf will join the team as senior vice president and general manager of Aprimo Smart Content Solutions.
—The TechPoint Foundation for Youth (TPF4Y) today announced it has received a $75,000 grant from the philanthropic arm of Salesforce to further STEM education in Indiana. Established in 2001, the TPF4Y focuses on diversifying the STEM workforce pipeline through outreach to underrepresented students. As part of that effort, the foundation oversees the city of Indianapolis’s US2020 program, CoderDojo Indiana, and the state’s robotics initiative.
According to a news release, TPF4Y has, with the support of corporate and community partners, connected more than 1,500 students to over 7,700 hours of hands-on STEM education during the first 2.5 years of the US2020 initiative. Companies interested in volunteering in STEM education programs should e-mail [email protected] for more information.
—The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) has opened its first satellite office at the University of Notre Dame’s Innovation Park accelerator, the organization announced earlier this month. In October, the IBRI began working with Notre Dame after professor Nitesh Chawla was named a visiting fellow and interim director of the applied data sciences center of the IBRI.
“We are excited to have the IBRI as an integral partner of Innovation Park and our new Idea Center,” said Bryan Ritchie, Notre Dame’s vice president of innovation, in a statement. “Our vision depends on Notre Dame connecting with great companies and organizations like the IBRI that can help spur growth and development of the innovation ecosystem.”
—The Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) delivered a series of company growth announcements in the past month: Pay-per-click digital advertising company Hannapin Marketing is expanding its office in Bloomington and hiring up to 14 more people; WorkHere, an app for job seekers, will invest $677,500 and hire up to 161 people at its office in Indianapolis; Freedom Healthworks, a digital platform for physicians, is adding up to 20 jobs and tripling its office space in Indy; and Select Genetics, a Minnesota-based ag-tech company working in the turkey industry, is opening a new hatchery in Vigo County, creating up to 100 new jobs by 2018. All of these deals hinge on performance-based tax credits offered by the IEDC.
