By Hayley Robb, Building Kentucky
It was the old mall, then the Center for Research and Development, now WKU has made it the headquarters of the WKU Innovation Campus and one key component is the CO/CREATE Talent Database.
“We’ve got to have a vision for how we want Bowling Green to grow because it’s growing no matter what,” said Sam Ford, innovation and culture fellow at the WKU Innovation Campus. “We want to make sure that entrepreneurs who live here, talented people who would love to come back, economic developers in the rural counties in our service area, all know that they can come here.”
The WKU Innovation Campus recently launched CO/CREATE Talent Database, which allows professionals to network from anywhere in the world – adding their name and resume to a secure database.
“We can take this database and go to potential employers that might want to come to Bowling Green and say look at this, I’ve got this workforce ready to go, skilled professionals all willing and ready to come back to Bowling Green,” Ford said.
Also gaining traction is the recently opened Collaborative SmartSpace, a 30,000-square-foot area where professionals from different employers and backgrounds can share talent.
“Once you enter this building and this room you know you are kind of entering into a sort of ecosystem of development right, you come in and anyone can come up to you and strike up a conversation and start tapping into knowledge you bring to the SmartSpace.”
The WKU Innovation Campus creates an environment where companies can engage meaningfully with researchers, students, start-ups and funders to tackle challenges and grow the strengths and diversity of this region’s economy.
“All of these programs are really about creating infrastructure that attracts and supports and retains talent.”
To upload your name and resume to the CO/CREATE Talent Database, simply log onto www.cocreate-IC.com. To learn more about the Collaborative SmartSpace, log onto www.create-IC.com.
The Innovation Campus at WKU was part of the vision laid out by WKU President Timothy C. Caboni during his Investiture Address in 2018.
