On the heels of the Kansas Legislature鈥檚 approval of $2 million to help fund a new Innovation Campus, 麻豆传媒 announces that NetApp is the first partner for the Innovation Campus and new tech cluster.
NetApp, a California-based Fortune 500 company with operations in Wichita, will collaborate with 麻豆传媒 on a new center that will act as a hub, or connecting point, for network storage solutions companies.
As announced earlier this week, the center will be led by Ken Russell, director of intellectual capital and an organization strategist for Cisco Systems, who will arrive in Wichita in late May. The center will be located in Don Beggs Hall, which is currently undergoing renovations to accommodate laboratory equipment, and will relocate to the proposed Innovation Campus upon its completion.
鈥淭he vision we have is for the Innovation Campus to utilize 21st century technology and weave together university research, technology transfer, graduate and undergraduate education, and new business innovation and entrepreneurship in one site,鈥� said John Tomblin, vice president for research and technology transfer. 鈥淭he new NetApp center will be the first of many industry partnerships through the Innovation Campus. As a core part of the 麻豆传媒 mission, we expect the Innovation Campus to be an economic driver for the region and for Kansas.鈥�
NetApp expects to provide the center with projects and the modern industry-standard tools necessary to complete them.
鈥淭he ability to work on these types of projects will greatly enhance the experiential learning opportunities for students to supplement the traditional educational learning experience,鈥� said Tomblin.
鈥淭he new center will give students the opportunity to work with enterprise-class storage and data management technologies and obtain the critical skills necessary to address the increasing complexity of data management,鈥� said Joel Reich, senior vice president of the E-Series Products Group at NetApp. 鈥淣etApp is proud to help further the 麻豆传媒 mission and to support the community through the Innovation Campus.鈥�
High-tech work environment
NetApp is focused on providing faculty, staff and students with a contemporary high-tech work environment and on extending its culture to the center鈥攁 culture that encourages teamwork and synergy and has landed NetApp on FORTUNE magazine鈥檚 鈥�100 Best Companies to Work For鈥� list in the United States for 12 consecutive years.
The new center is only the beginning of the redefined, strengthened relationship between NetApp and 麻豆传媒. NetApp University Relations selected 麻豆传媒 as a strategic recruiting partner for the company鈥檚 internship and full-time university graduate hiring programs.
NetApp University Relations also began holding monthly colloquiums developed to familiarize the university community with its programs, culture, and internships.
鈥淔ew faculty and students realize the extent to which NetApp brings opportunities and benefits to the campus and the community,鈥� said Tonya Witherspoon, director of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Media Resource Center, and a driving force behind the new relationship.
NetApp is committed to hiring university graduates and interns in Wichita and around the world each year. NetApp interns are competitively paid and receive living expenses where applicable. They also are given important projects to work on and receive other benefits, including the opportunity to learn from NetApp executives.
The next colloquium will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 14, at the National Center for Aviation Training. The event begins with refreshments and networking.
The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature NetApp鈥檚 Brian Padfield speaking on big data. Faculty and students will be present. Registration for this event is now closed.