Since Louisiana Tech broke ground on our Enterprise Campus in 2010, we have seen steady, positive growth in partner companies locating and expanding operations in Ruston.
The Enterprise Campus, located between the main campus and the historic downtown of Ruston, is a master-planned district designed to host corporate partners of the university and other supportive community and business activities, creating a vibrant center of economic activity that connects town and gown.
In our Tech Pointe facility, the Enterprise Campus currently houses nine corporate partners with over 250 employees working in software and hardware development for industries as diverse as telecom, healthcare, digital marketing, and defense. Plans are underway for the development of up to three more multi-tenant facilities to accommodate the growing demand for space from current and prospective tenants.
The goal of growing a hub of 21st century technology business activity in Ruston along the I-20 Innovation Corridor is being realized daily right next door to our campus.
While there are many levels and types of engagement that our corporate partners have with the university – including research, tech-transfer, program development, facilities development – the most exciting is the connections they are making with our students.
These partners are creating internship, apprenticeship, and employment opportunities for students from a wide and growing range of majors. They are helping to modernize and keep our academic programs on the leading edge. Furthermore, they are offering experiences with their companies that not only provide students jobs while in school, our students are also able to boost their skills and enhance their resumes. The students are able to create valuable connections in the job market, and when they graduate, they are more competitive and more prepared than students from other universities.
Students graduating from Tech now leave classes with even more than the stellar education and credentials that come with a Louisiana Tech degree.
They can leave having earned two or more years of income-increasing job experience in high-tech companies without ever leaving campus.
Our work making the Enterprise Campus a reality ensures that Louisiana Tech is even more attractive to ambitious and talented students from Louisiana, across the south, and across the world.
The growth of the Enterprise Campus is being driven by the demand for space to host partner companies on our campus. But equally important are the opportunities we can generate for the university and the community in terms of research, education, technology development, new jobs, and new economic activity that stimulates and benefits all segments of our economy from retail to housing and recreation.
The success of the Enterprise Campus and the value it can provide to our students, our university, and our region will take engagement from all of our community, alumni, and corporate partners. We’ve demonstrated tremendous impacts and success thus far, but we have so much more we can do together.
