Nebraska Innovation Campus earned the 2023 Outstanding Research Park Award, a top honor bestowed by the Association of University Research Parks.
AURP is the nonprofit organization representing research parks, innovation districts, tech hubs and communities of innovation.
“NIC’s exceptional ecosystem is driven by 10-plus years of impactful partnerships, collaborations and developments,” said Kate Engel, executive director. “We are grateful to all who have been involved, and those who continue to support and encourage our robust environment for innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization activities.”
NIC is home to more than 70 companies that include private businesses and University of Nebraska entities. Private-sector businesses occupy two-thirds of the campus’s 570,000 square feet of constructed space. Constructed facilities include office space; a makerspace; a conference center; The Mill Coffee & Bistro; The Scarlet Hotel, a teaching and research hotel; lab space; pilot plant space; and greenhouse space. At full build-out, NIC is expected to be a 2.2 million-square-foot campus with uniquely designed buildings and amenities that encourage innovation.
Construction is underway on the National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture, a $160 million laboratory for the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service. The center will focus on addressing challenges and opportunities in agricultural innovation for the 21st century.