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SALT LAKE CITY — As tech giants from across the country and the world descended upon Utah's capital city for the eighth Silicon Slopes Summit, the first panel of the event was occupied by familiar faces.
University of Utah President Taylor Randall and University of Utah Health CEO Michael Good on Wednesday welcomed attendees to the summit and shared their vision for how the university fits in the realm of Silicon Slopes.
"I'm often asked, 'What does the University of Utah do?'" Randall said. "Well, it's actually a lot of things. We are one of the state's largest health care systems. We're the state's largest educational system that grants a lot of degrees. We're also one of the state's largest innovation engines."
Randall and Good both said the university wants to be known for innovation and "feeding" Silicon Slopes with both talent and ideas.
University of Utah Health
Good said he sees the university health system and Utah's bustling tech sector as a perfect pairing, with a top-notch health care system being improved by new and innovative ideas and vice versa.
"I just want to double down on this concept of why our partnerships with all of you with your companies (and) Silicon Slopes organizations are so important. Data and data science, world-class health care coming together to change the way we stay healthy and when we become ill, we get better," Good said.
Good recently joined the Silicon Slopes team as the co-chairman of the new Silicon Slopes Health department and said he wants to focus on wellness, urgent care, orthopedics, women's and children's care and mental well-being.
"I want you to partner with us as the founding health care partner of Silicon Slopes to figure out how to take core practices and incorporate them into our own health care system and delivery," Good told the crowd. "We want to partner with you and develop new devices with your techniques."
He pointed to an emerging area in health care centered around therapeutic games and apps, adding that the Food and Drug Administration has already approved a few apps.
Good waxed optimistic about the U.'s new $185 million medical school building, saying that it will be home to "the most advanced simulation center in the country," including virtual reality and augmented reality as a modern teaching technique in the school.
University of Utah
Randall kicked off his look into the future by bringing attention to the university in January launching the Stena Center for Financial Technology meant to supercharge the student entrepreneurial experience and Utah's reputation for financial technology — also known as fintech — innovation and education.
"This is designed to bring the right talent to your fintech companies. It's also designed to develop new products with respect to all the new technologies that are meeting the market," Randall said.
Randall also mentioned the Utah Division of Games at the U., a top-ranked program in video game education and research that serves as a national leader in the novel discipline of games.
In September, a U.S. News and World Report named the U. as the top undergraduate game development program in the nation.
"We're putting a $25 million investment into that," Randall said. "That division of our university alone is actually responsible for over $2 billion in revenue with respect to games."
Like most higher education institutions throughout the nation, the U. is grappling with the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence and education's role in it. Randall said the university hopes to do for AI what it has already done for computer graphics.
"Stay tuned for a massive announcement that we'll make within the next month on an investment in artificial intelligence," Randall said.
