“The Collaborative SmartSpace environment appeals to the versatility of working remotely. With the development of the space comes the need for a dynamic Downtown experience, because the talent utilizing that type of collaborative space ultimately craves the same sort of energy a vibrant downtown offers.” TELIA BUTLER (’12) | Bowling Green’s first Downtown Development Coordinator Collaborative SmartSpace In fall 2022, the Innovation Campus opened its new 30,000-square foot Collaborative SmartSpace to strategy workers and creative professionals looking for a place to work and meet one another. Members who join the SmartSpace have 24/7 secure access to the facility, consistent wireless fiber internet, access to a training room and conference rooms throughout the facility, a work pod for teammates or collaborators who come in for meetings, a storytelling and meeting room and all other amenities for Innovation Campus tenants–an ever-growing list. “The Innovation Campus is something special—state of the art, for real,” said WKU student and applied folklorist Lamont ‘Jack’ Pearley, the MIT Open Documentary Lab virtual fellow based in Kentucky and the voice of WKYU’s The African American Folklorist . “From my first meeting with a fellow WKU student and collaborator, we were amazed by the location and have accomplished a lot.” This sentiment was echoed by Madison Whittle, a WKU student selected as one of the six Civic Imagination Incubator folks. “As a student, having access to real industry professionals and people who do research full time gives me a chance to bring ideas to the table in a professional setting— working with a lot of different groups who wouldn’t normally have space to collaborate,” Whittle said. “Having a resource like this in Bowling Green, just a few minutes from the main campus, is special and has a lot of cool applications for students.” The open concept of the Collaborative SmartSpace provides a venue where creative people who work in this region can meet one another, share their networks, develop new concepts and find talented people who work across various creative and strategic fields. “We want members who are collaborators,” Steen said. “We want to continue to foster an environment where people can do what they do professionally from this region–whether they work for projects and initiatives here in this region, work from the area and travel to larger nearby cities like Nashville and Louisville for meetings when needed, or work from the area and then fly around the world from an international airport an hour away when business calls.” Many of the new strategic partner organizations and initiatives highlighted in this piece have already made the Collaborative SmartSpace their home, ahead of its public launch. And, now that the Collaborative SmartSpace is offering memberships, WKU leaders see it as a game changer for students, for recent graduates and for alumni who want to work and live in the area. “The significance of space is often undervalued,” said Dr. Terrance Brown, Dean of Potter College of Arts & Letters. “The creation of the Collaborative SmartSpace at WKU provides an environment for high-impact engagement of faculty, staff, students and external creatives to develop innovative thoughts, concepts and projects.” ALUMNI.WKU.EDU WKUSPIRIT 57
WKU Spirit Fall 2022: Page 57
