University incubator closer to becoming reality

Southeast Missouri State University's Creative Labs and Industries Incubator in downtown Cape Girardeau is moving along on several fronts.

The incubator, which is designed to help students practice taking ideas and developing them into products and services, is planned for a two-story building in the 600 block of Broadway.

Renovations of the 13,300-square-foot building will begin immediately after the approval of bids for the work. That is expected to come during the board's December meeting, said Dr. Gerald McDougall, dean of the university's Harrison College of Business.

A soft launch is tentatively planned for March, McDougall said, and the facility should be fully operational by the fall 2015 semester. Southeast faculty, McDougall said, are hopeful students can be involved with the development of the incubator starting soon -- there is, for example, a possibility for real-world experience for students who are in the university's construction management program, if they can work with the firm contracted for the renovation.

"We want students involved with the enterprise up front," McDougall said, "so we are looking for ways to bring them inasmuch as we can for participation."

Students in other areas of study, such as graphic design and art, also may have an opportunity to take part in the creation of the incubator through influence on the décor of the building, McDougall said.

Another part of developing the incubator has been planning curriculum revisions and restructuring some courses to fit the incubator's planned uses. A group of faculty members is working on those changes, McDougall said.

The first floor of the incubator is planned to include retail space where students can market ideas for products and services, and also will contain a letterpress printing operation. The second floor will contain design and production studios, and both floors will have classroom space.

Though the incubator is intended to be "student-focused," McDougall said the public is encouraged to visit for retail activities, including the letter press printing operation, which will offer products.

"We want [the public] to come in there so that our students can be successful at taking their ideas to the market," McDougall said.

Practicing entrepreneurs also will be invited to the incubator periodically to share experiences with students, to provide support and to mentor.

Dr. James Stapleton, former executive director of the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Southeast and associate professor of management in the university's business college, designed the concept for the incubator. Stapleton also just opened Codefi, a new independent co-working business at 339 Broadway, which has a different purpose than the university incubator. It is geared toward helping grow startup businesses through community membership.

The Creative Labs and Industries Incubator is an expansion of the university's entrepreneurship education program, and is being funded through a combination of private donations, grants and various budget carry-overs and one-time moneys of the university. The estimated cost of the project, including the purchase of the building and grant administration services, is estimated at $1.73 million.

eragan@semissourian.com

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