Precision Marketing Initiative Depends Upon University-Based Assets

Marketing innovative and creative attributes of a region to specific industries and enterprises to develop and support industry cluster growth is one of the most significant advances in the field of economic development in recent years. The limitless drive for innovation, sharing information, collaboration and learning, each principles etched into the DNA of a university, is a critical success factor for today's most promising corporations.

The University works jointly with local, regional, and state economic developers from the initial stages of strategic planning to the personal interactions with client companies. What is done at ECU in education, research, and innovation is what the economic developers can sell, can depend on, and can use as a model.

Targeted Industry Clusters Bring Focus to Initiative

The Office of Engagement, Innovation & Economic Development has implemented several Precision Marketing Initiatives designed to develop and support regional industry/university clusters for job and investment creation.

These industry clusters benefit from collaborating with University expertise: Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT), Coastal and Marine Science, and Advanced Medical Technologies.

Advanced Learning Technologies
ECU's Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT), OEIED sponsored the inaugural NC Advanced Learning Technologies Summit to promote ECU's artistic and technology innovation resources to leaders in the Advanced Learning Technologies industry. OEIED hosts campus tours and multi-departmental presentations for “serious” gaming technology companies. Faculty-industry collaborations have developed in medicine and nursing to bring education to large audiences through the use of serious gaming, and ECU students participate in projects to gain experience and expertise.

Coastal & Marine Sciences
North Carolina's marine sciences cluster encompasses a vast array of facilities, capabilities, and expertise. These assets support a broad spectrum of academic, government, and industrial interests from marine biotechnology to coastal geography and hazards. Collectively, North Carolina's necklace of marine sciences assets, stretching from Manteo to Wilmington and beyond, is an unparalleled laboratory for attracting new research and supporting the sustainable development of eastern North Carolina. Since no targeted marketing materials and strategies exist to promote these unique but fragmented resources to attract new scientists and businesses to North Carolina, OEIED has created a website (www.ncmarinescience.com) which catalogues these resources. This effort complements NC Biotechnology Center's Marine Sciences Center of Innovation and President Bowles' coastal marine sciences research initiative. It partners with five other universities to showcase the depth North Carolina's support to the coastal and marine science industry cluster for the purposes of attracting research and recruiting industry.

Advanced Medical Technologies:
To serve as the gateway to the array of Advanced Medical Technology resources at East Carolina University, OEIED is compiling website to show the research and innovation taking place throughout ECU, especially in the medical, dental, and nursing schools. This catalogue of university resources will contribute to the statewide industry cluster and promote these resources to industry, researchers, and economic developers.