“I think this operation is just a wonderful case study of how to do it well,” said Baty. “Work in part with the state government; build investment in innovation, technology, and talent; do that in partnership with big tech companies; do it close to government, in the capital city. It’s a wonderful living laboratory of all that this whole event is about.”
That focus on not just addressing, but integrating academia into the process of solving real-world problems, was at the center of this year’s summit. Advances in technology develop so quickly that by the time a traditional curriculum might be developed and a student enrolled and eventually graduated into the workforce, that landscape will have changed again entirely. To address this, universities have the opportunity to integrate the latest technology into the classroom and partner with companies on real-world projects they’re tackling.
Doing so requires evolving from an insular “ivory tower” on a campus to an interconnected community member and partner working at the local, state, national, and international level. That transformation is central to Virginia Tech’s mission in 2025 and beyond.
“That’s starting to change,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said during his chat with Laurie Locascio, president and chief executive officer of the American National Standards Institute. “We’re working very hard at building our innovation network, being where our partners are so we can deliver in our mission areas.”
That shift in the university’s dynamic is a big reason the conference was hosted by Virginia Tech at Academic Building One. Beyond the research labs and maker spaces housed within, the building’s location in Alexandria at the intersection of academia, government, and industry was an intentional aim for welcoming events like this conference.
“We’re here at the nexus of all three,” said Lance Collins, Virginia Tech’s vice president for the greater D.C. area. “Part of our DNA is connectivity. We have very strong ties with dozens of companies at this point. We’re part of their mission, and we bring a cultural element to what they’re doing.”
Some of the groundwork for the partnership with THE had been laid by Virginia Tech Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer Dan Sui’s participation in recent Innovation & Impact Summits, in Delhi, India, and Schenzen, China. Sui joined two panels at this year’s summit, Responsible Innovation: Anticipating Unanticipated Consequences at Scale, and Responsible Internationalization of Research.
“These events only work if we get a great partner that’s fully engaged, that’s fully putting its own people forward, that helps set the agenda,” said Baty. “And Virginia Tech’s been brilliant, perfect partners.”
The summit affirmed Virginia Tech’s role connecting scholarship, industry, and communities to advance solutions to real world problems. It also reflected two years of universitywide planning led by the Provost’s Office in partnership with Research and Innovation, Principal Partnerships, Continuing and Professional Education, Marketing and Communications, and other partners.
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