By Jeff Murphy,
September 17, 2018
Aaron Deacon, left, managing director of KC Digital Drive, and Mike Godard, provost-chief
learning officer for the 欧美视频, on Sept. 14 sign documents
making possible UCM鈥檚 participation in the Greater Kansas City MetroLab Partnership
and the launching of a new Gigabit Lab at The Missouri Innovation Campus (MIC) in
Lee鈥檚 Summit.
WARRENSBURG, MO 鈥 The 欧美视频 has joined the and launched a Gigabit Lab to help create gigabit applications in education, cybersecurity,
Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and the healthcare industry.
The announcement about the lab was made in an agreement signing ceremony at The Missouri Innovation Campus (MIC) in Lee鈥檚 Summit Sept. 14. UCM is joining the MetroLab Network and area partners
such as KC Digital Drive, Velocity Lee鈥檚 Summit and BridgeSpace co-working space to
develop gigabit applications internally, and with innovation and technology entrepreneurs.
Located at the MIC, the UCM Gigabit Lab allows entrepreneurs/innovators/researchers
in developing the next-generation products and services that take advantage of faster
and more reliable networks. UCM will focus on products and services to educators and
students, such as, Internet of Things Design Competition (create innovative solutions
using Raspberry Pis and sensors), and in partnership with the developers of Gigabots
(which bring real-time Internet connectivity to educational robotics platforms), so
they can learn about the underlying technologies and applications and gain a critical
understanding of this new technology.
The program is designed to work with growth-oriented companies and innovators to develop
and market products primarily in the education, cyber, and healthcare areas. The focus
will be on education, cyber security, Internet of Things, workforce, and healthcare
applications that can be deployed to students and teachers in K-12 grades, and incorporated
into UCM degree and certificate programs.
Jonathan Wagner, founder of Big Bang IO, LLC, demonstrates Gigabots, which are designed
for K-12 students to explore robotics and Internet of Things applications, and will
be part of the new Gigabit lab at The Missouri Innovation Campus.
鈥淯CM is excited about joining the gigabit and SMART city community to help develop
and deploy new innovative applications in the education and programming industries,鈥
said Joe Mullins, consultant with Workforce and Professional Development at UCM-Lee鈥檚
Summit. 鈥淯CM will be participating in the MetroLab Network and working with KC Digital
Drive, and other organizations in the Kansas City area to continue developing and
enhancing the program.鈥
Mullins added that this collaborative effort allows UCM to be involved in the Cisco
Smart & Connected Communities initiative in Kansas City. This initiative is part of
an effort to explore opportunities to create a city network that enhances citizen
engagement, and includes development of a 鈥渓iving lab鈥 in the city鈥檚 innovation district.
鈥淭he UCM Gigabit Lab will add to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lee鈥檚 Summit and
Kansas City, bringing together startup and innovative companies working on new gigabit
applications and services,鈥 said Chuck Cooper, who represents Velocity Lee鈥檚 Summit.
Jonathan Wagner, founder of Big Bang IO, LLC, added, 鈥淲e have been working with schools
across the country to bring The Gigabots to K-12, so we are extremely excited to bring
them to the KC Metro Area鈥
By joining the local MetroLab partnership and launching a Gigabit Lab, UCM is bringing
real resources to the table in its ongoing efforts to make Kansas City a digital leader.
Through the MetroLab, the university is able to help align its assets to help find
solutions to problems faced by local governments.
鈥淭he Gigabit lab is a worthy addition to the network of partners in the community
of gigabit cities we鈥檝e been growing for the last seven years,鈥 said Aaron Deacon,
managing director or KC Digital Drive. 鈥淲e are excited to see partners like UCM step
up to lead in this way.鈥
Deacon signed the partnership agreement with Mike Godard, provost-chief learning officer
at UCM. Godard noted that through this initiative 鈥淯CM looks forward to working in
support of educators, technologists, and community organizations who are developing
technologies that are shaping the web. As we get data from Internet of Things devices
and other Internet activity, we know that this will spur further research opportunities
at UCM with regard to higher education, and with our K-12 schools and other partnerships
that we have there.鈥
Learn more about the new Gigabit Lab Program at the MIC by contacting Joe Mullins
at jmullins@ucmo.edu or 660-441-2861.