How Will University Innovation Hubs Shape the Future of Work
In
novate Carolina’s newest best practices report: How Will University Innovation Hubs Shape the Future of Work? This report began with the May 2024 Innovation Summit, co-hosted with UNC-Chapel Hill’s Innovate Carolina and UI Collab, UIDP’s consulting firm. The summit brought together 50 leaders from 22 states to discuss the evolving role of university-based innovation hubs in the future of work.
In a rapidly evolving landscape driven by AI, robotics, and emerging technologies, university-affiliated innovation hubs are proving essential in bridging academia, industry, government, and communities. This report offers actionable insights from 11 innovation hubs across the U.S. to uncover how they’re helping organizations adapt to rapid changes in talent, technology, workspaces, and partnerships. It highlights how universities are shaping the future of work and strengthening cross-sector collaboration.
Key highlights in the report include:
- Talent. Among the types of skills discussed by hubs interviewed, entrepreneurial skills are the most common type of skillset hub leaders say they have developed programs to address — and they are heavily embedding ways to build human skills (also known as soft or professional skills) into these programs. Technical skills are the second most frequently cited.
- Technology. While innovation hubs report frequent use of collaboration tools and cloud computing internally among their own teams, external efforts focused on upskilling others emphasize more advanced and emerging tools: AI, data science, robotics, etc. This reveals a potential opportunity to share practical, everyday tech tools that could boost productivity.
- Workspaces and Work Modes. Innovation hubs are reimagining workspaces to support in-person, hybrid and remote work. Many feature co-working areas and flexible, tech-enabled environments like makerspaces and prototyping labs to encourage collaboration. Hubs also navigate the challenge of balancing physical infrastructure with the growing demand for remote and hybrid work options.
- Partnerships. Hubs that act as conveners and ecosystem builders show how universities can bring together disparate stakeholders for large-scale impact. These hubs are not just conducting research or training workers; they are strategically aligning regional economic strengths with national and state priorities (e.g., aerospace in New Mexico, robotics in Pittsburgh and med-tech in Minnesota) that are critical to the future of work.
- Economic Impact. Hub leaders indicated they see their future-of-work efforts making an economic impact in a multitude of ways. The most frequently cited were expanding the capacity to conduct research, building entrepreneurial skills, and commercializing research. They measure future-of-work impact through quantitative metrics like numbers of patents, startups and jobs created. Hubs are increasingly exploring long-term qualitative impacts, such as skill translation and regional economic resilience.
Report Contributors
- Dedric A. Carter, PhD, MBA, Vice Chancellor for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, and Chief Innovation Officer, UNC-Chapel Hill
- Melissa Erekson, Consultant, UI Collab; Principal, Clio & Associates
- Patrick Kastian, Assistant Director, Data Intelligence Hub, UNC-Chapel Hill
- Brock Pierce, Associate Director, Impact Communications, UNC-Chapel Hill
- Cindy Reifsnider, Director, Data Intelligence Hub, UNC-Chapel Hill
- Sheryl Waddell, Director, Innovation Hubs and Engagement, UNC-Chapel Hill