- Utah launched the Nucleus Institute to unite higher education, industry and government around a shared goal of innovation.
- The initiative aims to solve global problems through collaboration and innovation.
- Nucleus Fund and Talent Hub will support startups and connect students to careers.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Beehive State is continuing to push the envelope when it comes to innovation with a Wednesday unveiling of a first-of-its-kind Nucleus Institute.
The initiative aims to bring together higher education, industry and government around a shared goal of innovation through collaboration to solve "some of the biggest problems that we face in the world today," said Jefferson Moss, executive director of the Nucleus Institute.
Established by HB530, the Nucleus Institute is the reimagining of the Utah Innovation Lab, creating a focused governance model, a new investment structure and a strategic framework to guide statewide innovation through higher education, private sector engagement and other emerging sectors.
"This is more than a launch," Moss said. "Nucleus is the culmination of years of effort to position Utah as a global leader in innovation and economic impact."
The institute will partner with the Utah System of Higher Education to accelerate the path of breakthrough ideas to systemic solutions that will impact the state and beyond.
How? By connecting students, researchers, innovators and mentors with opportunities to bridge the gap between idea and execution.
When Geoffrey Landward was appointed commissioner of Utah System of Higher Education, he said one of his first conversations with the Board of Higher Education was centered around what Utah's pillars of higher education should be.
"A shift that was dramatic in the way we thought about and approached higher education was thinking about, 'What is our role in economic growth and economic opportunity?' And that it has to be more than just developing a workforce, which is one of the critical things that we do," Landward said. "But when you think about higher education, the innovation, the imagination, the discovery that happens at our institutions, how do we take that and make sure that that is fueling economic opportunities and growth in the state of Utah?"
The answer to those questions, he said, is what led to the creation of the Nucleus Institute.
"I'm asked all the time, 'What does higher education look like for the future?' And what it looks like is this. A true partnership with industry, with education and understanding the needs of the state and the needs of the future and saying higher education has to be a part of that," Landward said.
University of Utah President Taylor Randall echoed Landward's sentiments, saying that every year, he sees between 300 and 400 business ideas take shape through the U.'s Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation on the U.'s campus.
While the University of Utah accounts for nearly $800 billion in research every year, Randall said it's "no good" if that research stays in the lab.
"As I look at our portfolio of products, I see hundreds of those things that need a better chance, right? So, how do we speed it up? How do we actually, and I know as good as we are, how do we double and triple and quadruple the speed of getting these inventions into our marketplace so our lives get better? Nucleus." Randall said.
As part of the institute, the $40 million Utah Innovation Fund, which supports deep tech startups across Utah, will be rebranded as the Nucleus Fund. The Utah Innovation Center, now known as Nucleus Grow, collaborates with the institute to guide research from all of Utah's higher education campuses into the marketplace.
Additionally, Talent Ready Utah, in partnership with Nucleus and the Utah System of Higher Education, announced the launch of Talent Hub. Talent Hub will function similarly to a dating app, except it's connecting potential employees to the workforce and industries that need them the most through a unified platform for internships, apprenticeships and employment.
"The launch of Talent Hub represents a major step forward for Utah's system of public colleges and universities," Landward said. "By connecting students to opportunities with top employers, we are creating clear pathways from education to meaningful careers. Talent Hub not only strengthens collaboration across higher education but also accelerates innovation statewide, ensuring Utah's workforce and economy are prepared for the opportunities ahead."
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he often hears that collaboration and innovation are in Utah's DNA. However, he no longer believes that.
Instead, he sees innovation as something that is passed on from generation to generation. Once, it was necessary to survive. Now, he believes Utah has to be intentional about passing on innovation in order to adapt to a changing world.
"Nucleus is all about ... passing that knowledge of innovation, those skills that are so necessary to compete on a global scale and passing them on to the next generation. It's about investing in companies that are going to solve those wicked problems that we're facing now as a country. We know that the solutions are out there," Cox said.
"Nucleus is an accurate description of the present ... and because of that, we will continue to lead the future in this country."
