The proposed Innovation and Product Realization Facility at the University of Tennessee at Martin has been submitted to the University of Tennessee System for consideration in the 2023 fiscal year. The proposed facility also moves forward with a new name: the Tennessee Entrepreneurial Science and Technology Hub or the “TEST Hub.”

The $17.5 million, 50,000-square-foot facility is a joint effort by UT Martin, Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology and Dyersburg State Community College to support and expand workforce and economic development in rural Northwest Tennessee. Dr. Shadow Robinson, UT Martin College of Engineering and Natural Sciences dean, wrote about the project’s significance and name change in a letter to university supporters.
<blockquote>“This project is not only a top educational priority for the University of Tennessee at Martin, but also a top priority for future economic and workforce development for the region we serve,” he wrote.</blockquote>
“This project is not only a top educational priority for the University of Tennessee at Martin, but also a top priority for future economic and workforce development for the region we serve,” he wrote. In the same letter, Robinson explained the reasoning behind the new name.

“The (TEST Hub) captures the nature of the facility as one where the future economic- and-workforce development partners with the educational offerings of a strong university,” Robinson wrote. “Our marketing contacts are excited about this change and believe it will strengthen our ability to support industry recruitment into the region.”

The TEST Hub will be located on the UT Martin main campus and combine educational facilities, entrepreneurial centers and manufacturing workshops surrounding a shared industrial maker space. Already under construction is the new Latimer Engineering and Science Building, which is scheduled to open in fall 2022. The 120,000-square-foot, three-story building is made possible by a $6.5 million gift from Union City’s Bill Latimer that was needed to secure state funding for the $65 million project.

More information about the proposed TEST Hub, the Latimer Engineering and Science Building and UT Martin STEM programs is available by contacting Robinson at <a href="mailto:srobin47@utm.edu">srobin47@utm.edu</a> or call 731-881-7380.
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