New innovation center will help create digital, technology jobs in Aberdeen
A new initiative will help Aberdeen go digital.
Land O'Lakes has teamed up with the Center on Rural Innovation to launch the American Connection Communities Initiative. Locally, Northern State University, Agtegra and the Aberdeen Development Corp. are also involved in the project. Several local leaders formed a group to act as consultants on the project.
The goal of the project will be to give people the tools they need in order to bring innovative technology to the rural landscape. People will also have tools helpful in starting new businesses.
Land O'Lakes previously started the American Connection Project, said Tina May, vice president of rural services at Land O'Lakes. It's goal was to bring internet access to farms and farm communities across the country. Under the initiative, Land O'Lakes had 175 partners that pushed the federal government to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill to kickstart the process. The American Connection Communities Initiative is an extension of that work, May said.
The initiative aims to bring jobs that would typically be in coastal cities, such as the Silicon Valley, to rural communities. That's where the Center on Rural Innovation comes in. The nonprofit organization is focused on helping rural communities build technology hubs and software jobs, said Executive Director Matt Dunne.
The the Center on Rural Innovation helps local leaders understand their digital economy, then works with them to build an entrepreneurship initiative focused on a tech company. That company then helps to source the talent and to secure funding to move forward.
Dunne said the Center on Rural Innovation not only help create a plan, but helps with execution, too.
With the funding from companies such as Land O'Lakes, the Center on Rural Innovation can create a more specific focus on particular communities and help them understand their digital economies.
Dunne cited the center's work in Cape Girardeau, Mo., as a successful example of the program. It has a program that is attracting startups to the region, as well as paid internships at a software product shop. Many people who grew up in the town left because they didn't think they would be able to pursue a technology career in the region and are now moving back, said Dunne.
Chris Pearson, CEO of the Aberdeen-based Agtegra cooperative, said the initiative will help the local agriculture industry, although people might not initially think of ag as a field that is going digital. Agriculture has been identified as an industry that could use more of an investment, he said.
"I think this project moves us in a way of saying not only is it about the tactical production side, but it's also about other areas: communication, job opportunities, networking opportunities and knowledge opportunities across the farm sector as well, which I think this project starts to address," Pearson said.
The center will benefit industries beyond agriculture. Hannah Walters, who is an assistant professor of marketing at the Northern State University School of Business, was part of the local group that has worked on the project in recent months. She said that technology has infiltrated virtually every industry, and people can use the center to gain tools for any field they are interested in. The center can even be used to help kickstart businesses or industries that are not yet present in the region, so that people no longer have to move away to work in certain fields.
The center will eventually be located in Northern's new Business and Innovation Center, if the project is ultimately approved.
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Innovation center will help create digital, technology jobs
