9/14/2009
Enterprise Center to Offer Valuable Technology Incubator Resources
by Rebecca Norman, Graduate Assistant, UALR Lead Center
Entrepreneurial interest has been steadily increasing over the past years, partly as a result of massive layoffs and an aging workforce that is unable to retire. A recent Kauffman report found that stronger regulations were being put in place to prevent the rise of giant organizations, which may also contribute to the development of a more market-oriented society. Technology incubators offer valuable resources to help new entrepreneurial efforts succeed. Some of these incubator resources include access to university research, laboratories, mentors and networking opportunities.
The Enterprise Center is a technology incubator that is being constructed at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Arkansas Research and Technology Park currently houses 25 startup companies that specialize in information technology and assembly manufacturing. Financial support for the Enterprise Center will come from an economic infrastructure fund grant and from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The Enterprise Center will be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building and will have the resources needed to accommodate dry and wet laboratories and offices. The Enterprise Center is expected to be completed in April or May of 2010.
Information about the Arkansas Research and Technology Park and the developing Enterprise Center can be found at http://www.uark.edu/ua/artp/. For more information about the Enterprise Center, contact Phil Stafford at psstaff@uark.edu or 479.575.8411.
