University of Wisconsin Stout | Wisconsin's Polytechnic University

The Discovery Center serves to advance UW-Stout’s polytechnic focus of cross-disciplinary applied research with a commitment to quality and innovation, transformative education, strategic collaboration and results-focused technical assistance to business and industry.

Since July 2009, the center has facilitated dozens of collaborative projects involving the creativity and technical skills of more than 300 students and faculty. These projects tap resources from every college on campus and connect UW-Stout with industry and community partners to advance economic development and workforce opportunities.

Overview of the Discovery Center

• Privately funded launch in July 2009; sustained through private-public fund mix
  
  
• Built on colleges’ applied research capacity and Stout Technology Transfer Institute (STTI) technical assistance resources
  
  
• Goals:    Advance undergraduate, graduate and faculty applied research
               Provide solutions to industry challenges
               Drive research commercialization and economic development
  

• Focus:   Industry funded collaborative projects
              Publicly funded faculty and student collaborative projects
              Internally initiated faculty and student innovation projects

Overall 2009 Discovery Center Impacts

• 483 jobs created or retained
• $21M invested in operations
• $19M new or retained sales
• $6M in cost savings
• $1.6M client investment as a result of EDA-UC assistance
• 43 entrepreneurial and 6 company innovations
• 5 incubator clients mentored
• 500+ client company employees engaged in EDA-UC projects
• 196 individuals engaged in workforce development, process improvement and business systems workshops and seminar