One of the critical tenets to Place Design is access to technology. Knowledge workers will not reside in an environment where technology does not flourish.
One of the critical tenets to economic development in the future will be the incubation of emerging technologies. Emerging technologies will create the companies and jobs of the future where knowledge workers will earn their living. That is why the creation of Texas A&M University-Central Texas (TAMUCT), working in collaboration with its partners like Killeen Independent School District and Central Texas College, is so important to the future of this community and region.
When one thinks about the economic impact of educational institutions, it is natural to limit that thinking to the employment of staff and the construction and operation of educational facilities. A second economic impact can also occur, depending on the university’s mission.
If a university’s mission includes research in and the development of emerging technologies, that research occurs in the university facilities. But then something beneficial often happens. The process of producing products and services from that research moves out of the university and into the private sector. It is in the private sector where new companies get organized and new jobs are created. It is in the private sector where taxes are paid to political subdivisions, salaries are paid to production workers and where wealth is created. None of it would happen without the public university’s incubation of the technology in the first place.
This development is critical to the future of this community because of a few simple facts. According to a recent New York Times article entitled The Changing Nature of Middle Class Jobs, nearly 300 out of every 1,000 middle class jobs were held by workers in the manufacturing industry in 1980. Today, the rate is half that. On the other hand, specialty occupations, especially those involving technology and innovation, account for the largest share of growth in middle class jobs. The same forces that caused the demise of blue-collar jobs are now fueling dramatic increases in jobs in the innovation sector.
From where will that innovation come? One place is TAMUCT.
Recently, TAMUCT and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) signed a formal affiliation agreement that will foster and strengthen research collaboration between the two institutions by establishing TAMUCT as one of TEES’ 19 regional divisions. Both institutions are committed to supporting groundbreaking collaborations among researchers at their institutions. Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas, deputy director of TEES, summarized the economic development impact of this agreement perfectly when he said, “Collaboration between universities not only advances innovation in the lab, but contributes to the state economy through commercializing those discoveries and preparing the technology workforce of the future.”
So, where will the research be focused? Already, the two institutions are working with others on the National Science Foundation Solar Research Proposal. “Texas is well-positioned in the renewable energy sector as there is not only an abundance of sunshine, but also a strong technical workforce and an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Dr. Robert Balog, director of the Renewable Energy and Power Electronics Research Lab at Texas A&M.
Other areas of mutual interest are computing and information systems and the enhancement of veterans’ employability. One cannot help but think that, given the nature of this region, health care and defense would be fertile fields as well.
The world is changing. If this community is to survive and prosper, it is important that it changes as well. At no time in our history has vision been so important because at no time in history has change occurred so rapidly. Those who saw the need to create an upper level university here that could collaborate with others were true visionaries. The ability to develop technologies of the future coupled with a locally trained and educated workforce will likely produce benefi ts that will stand as long-lasting testimonies to their vision.
Written by John Crutchfield, President/CEO, Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce
Published in the Greater Killeen Business Quarterly 2015 Economic Outlook & Fort Hood Guide