UW-Stout Polytechnic Chancellor Katherine Frank joined Universities of Wisconsin Regent President Kyle Weatherly, UWs Interim President Renée Wachter and other university leaders today to announce budget proposals focused on building Wisconsin’s workforce and the next generation of businesses.
The Tech for Tomorrow and Accelerate Wisconsin proposals represent new initiatives from the UWs’ 2027-29 budget request proposal, which the UW Board of Regents will vote on next week. The goal is to create 300,000 career-ready workers, upskill 1 million workers for better jobs and create 2,500 new businesses over a decade.
“We consistently hear from employers across the state of the need for strategic, high-skilled workers ready to lead emerging technologies like 3D concrete and metal printing, advancing computing, and applied industrial AI,” Frank said. “Wisconsin needs these workers to compete in the global economy, and given the nuanced ethical and environmental considerations that accompany innovation, UW-Stout Polytechnic is perfectly positioned to prepare the next generation of leaders.”
UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Thomas Gibson and UW-Parkside Chancellor Lynn Akey joined Weatherly, Wachter and Frank to announce the initiatives. Tech for Tomorrow, Accelerate Wisconsin and other workforce-oriented proposals seek state investment to allow the UWs to help build Wisconsin’s workforce and the next generation of businesses.
Tech for Tomorrow would speed new technologies from the research lab to commercialization while Accelerate Wisconsin would help entrepreneurs create and expand businesses and develop new products and markets. The other proposals include UW for U, which supports continuing education, online learning, and competency-based education, and U Succeed, which provides student support in academic advising, career counseling, and more.
“The Universities of Wisconsin have long helped Wisconsin address some of its biggest challenges,” Wachter said. “Our budget will offer opportunities to invest in people and education that will help Wisconsin meet its workforce challenges, while providing targeted funds to help grow the next generation of businesses.”
The budget initiatives that would impact UW-Stout Polytechnic, outlined below, will reinforce the university’s polytechnic tenets of Applied Learning & Research and Business & Industry Collaboration.
Applied Learning & Research
• Built Environment Emerging Technologies Lab. Funding will advance UW-Stout Polytechnic’s 3D Concrete Printing Lab as a hub for emerging technologies in the built environment, providing hands-on, industry-aligned education and workforce training for Wisconsin residents interested in architecture, interior design, industrial and product design, and automation. Investment would fund staff as well as additional equipment to enable the university’s current 3D concrete printer to be portable/moveable to job sites and related activities.
• Advanced Computing & Emerging Technology Lab. Provide introductory quantum computing access via cloud-based platforms as well as high-performance computing resources for simulation and research.
• Re-entry Student Support. These funds would provide significant additional support for re-entry students to promote degree completion and timely graduation rates. UW-Stout Polytechnic is already working to re-enroll these students so they can complete their degree. The academic advisor would serve as a continued reference point, working with them throughout their remaining time to ensure they have the proper support for student success.
• Competency-Based Education Infrastructure. UW-Stout Polytechnic has been serving working professionals since the initiation of our service-based pricing structures in 1999. With this investment, the university can expand its service-based pricing structures to support competency-based instruction, particularly for working professionals and returning students.
Business & Industry Collaboration
• Stout Applied AI Innovations Hub. The Stout Applied AI Innovations Hub will provide a shared space for applied AI learning, industry collaboration and regional partnership development. It is intended to connect students, faculty, staff, industry and other UW institutions through project-based work, consultation and community-focused programming.
• UW‑Stout Polytechnic Center for Innovation and Development: PROPEL Initiative. The initiative establishes a coordinated student venture studio that will help students move ideas from concept to commercialization through structured, hands-on support. It integrates venture coaching, interdisciplinary faculty-led projects, mentorship, prototyping resources and market access tools to advance student-founded ventures.
“The investments outlined today, along with those of our colleagues throughout the state, are critical to meeting employer demand and keeping Wisconsin competitive,” Frank said. “At UW-Stout Polytechnic we remain committed to elevating and accelerating the innovation of entrepreneurs and ensuring that our graduates think ethically, critically, and strategically at the helm of tomorrow’s technology.”
