MI2 Is a Statewide, and Global, Lighthouse for Kentucky

By: Dr. Tim Caboni, MI2 Board Member

[Image: Tim Caboni scaled e1680263428394]

This fall, we embark on the sixth year of our University’s strategic plan, Climbing to Greater Heights. Serving as the roadmap for our University, our strategic plan seeks to transform our students’ lives and elevate the communities we serve by providing resources, attracting talent and nurturing intellectual capital.To achieve the vision outlined in our strategic plan, we must engage in strong partnerships with industry leaders throughout our region and beyond. We have perhaps no better example of the power of strategic relationships than that found in our Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2).Kentucky’s metals sector has become one of the state’s most substantial industries, providing Kentuckians with more than 25,000 full-time jobs across 230 facilities within the Commonwealth. MI2 provides collaborative, industry-led executive leadership to attract and promote advanced research, sustainability, commercialization and talent development in Kentucky’s metals industry. Our goal is to position Kentucky as the preeminent destination for metals innovation.Partnering with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development’s KY Innovation, the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation and other statewide leaders, we established MI2’s headquarters at WKU’s Innovation Campus in the fall of 2022.The 285,000-square-foot WKU Innovation Campus is an applied research and intellectual hub that spurs innovative collaboration, promotes problem-solving and nurtures talent to elevate the economy and culture of our region. Through real-world applications and entrepreneurial support, the Innovation Campus engages and connects a wide range of stakeholders to tackle challenges and foster a talent-first strategy to meet the needs of the region’s growing industries, including corporations, industry leaders, startups, researchers, students and subject matter experts.Our Innovation Campus serves as a lighthouse to attract and connect innovative thinkers while simultaneously providing hands-on research and learning opportunities for our students. Supporting the campus’s mission, MI2 convenes stakeholders across the Commonwealth to collaborate and embrace the opportunities and challenges outlined by metals industry leaders.We are proud to serve as the home of MI2, and I am equally proud to serve as an inaugural board member.Our work is just beginning. I look forward to working together with all of you to make Kentucky the destination for metals innovation.

[Image: Tim Caboni Signature]

Timothy C. CaboniPresidentWestern Kentucky University