DETROIT – A

$300,000 grant from the Hudson-Webber Foundation will support Lawrence

Technological University’s new Detroit Center for Design and Technology, which

will include a Design Incubator.

LTU is the

anchor tenant for a 30,000-square-foot three-story commercial building

developed by Midtown Detroit Inc. at the corner of Woodward and Willis, which

is scheduled for completion this summer. Several existing LTU student programs

in Detroit will be consolidated in the new educational facility of

approximately 6,700 square feet that can expand to 12,000 square feet.

“Attracting

and retaining young talent in Detroit is critical to the success of this

region,” said David Egner, president and CEO of Hudson-Webber Foundation. “The

Detroit Center for Design and Technology represents a great opportunity for LTU

students to tap into the energy in the city and build networks that will help

them stay and thrive after they graduate.”

Within LTU’s

Detroit Center for Design and Technology, 1,200 square feet will be dedicated

to the Design Incubator, which will educate young, creative talent and foster

innovation, design thinking, and the commercialization of art and design ideas

through active coaching and collaboration with industry professionals, in

addition to providing access to state-of-the-art technology.

“The Detroit

Center for Design and Technology and the Design Incubator are well-positioned

to be a dynamic catalyst for attracting and developing top young talent and

growing Detroit’s economy,” said LTU Professor Amy Deines, executive director

for DCDT and associate dean of LTU’s College of Architecture and Design. “The

fusion of budding creative talent with the experience of seasoned professionals

should spark the next wave of energetic, committed urban entrepreneurs in

Detroit.”

Located

between the academic studio space and the office space of on-site partners, the

Design Incubator will provide a dynamic co-working and collaboration space for

students, faculty, designers and professionals, as well as community innovators

and entrepreneurs, to creatively work and engage in facilitating new

connections and ideas, as well as forming business and service opportunities.

“The

galvanizing effect of co-locating academic and incubator programs, along with

on-site partner relationships, will help DCDT and the Design Incubator make a

positive community and economic impact,” Deines said.

This

university-based co-working space is equipped with the latest technology and

resources from LTU and its alliance partners. In addition to free access

to Wi-Fi, students will have access to the professional expertise of faculty

and designers, computers and software, and prototyping equipment and

services.

“In addition

to educating young people who want to make a difference in Detroit’s urban

core, DCDT will facilitate new connections and accelerate commercialization of

new ideas,” Deines said. “DCDT will help attract, establish, and grow the

population and business density necessary for sustained urban economic

development in the Midtown area.”

The

Hudson-Webber Foundation funding will help programs managed by the DCDT and the

Design Incubator to achieve a level of self-sustainability over a three-year

period. These are facilities, technologies and programs that are not supported

by academic tuition or direct university support.

“The

addition of DCDT to the existing educational and entrepreneurial assets in the

Woodward corridor will strengthen what is already a dynamic environment for

learning, creating, and collaborating,” Egner added.