WESTBOROUGH, MASS. – The Healey-Driscoll Administration and MassTech have awarded Western New England University (WNE) a $1.37 million Tech and Innovation Ecosystem grant to establish an incubator that will drive innovation in financial technology or fintech. WNE’s new Springfield-based FinTech Incubator will bolster talent development in the growing tech sector, fund new, on-campus computing infrastructure for hands-on learning opportunities and allow faculty and students to work directly with private sector companies and other financial sector organizations on real-world challenges.
WESTBOROUGH – The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), a public economic development agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has hired career intelligence and cybersecurity expert John Petrozzelli as the new director of its MassCyberCenter division. Petrozzelli brings a strong background from previous roles with managed services provider Magna5’s Boston office, as well as strong cyber and defense roles with both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Air Force. His mix of private- and public-sector experiences aligns closely with the mission of the MassCyberCenter, which was launched in September 2017 to enhance economic opportunities for the Massachusetts cybersecurity ecosystem, to strengthen the talent pipeline, and to bolster the cyber resiliency of the Commonwealth’s public and private-sector communities.
WESTBOROUGH, MASS. – Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Innovation Institute at MassTech announced a new award totaling $5,496,701 to UMass Lowell through MassTech’s Collaborative R&D Matching Grant Program to establish the Massachusetts Alliance for Space Technology & Sciences (MASTS), a new research hub at UMass Lowell focused on space technology. The Alliance, which is a consortium of research universities, colleges, and corporations from across the globe, will be led by UMass Lowell. The funds will support a two-year project, boosted by over $10 million in match funds from outside partners, which will enable the development of a one-stop support system for innovators working on small spacecraft.
The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech (CAM) has launched a new online portal that creates a single ‘digital front door’ for Massachusetts companies that are preparing proposals to the federal CHIPS Act, a major $50 billion dollar federal initiative designed to “strengthen and revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing.”
The Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative has awarded grants to three organizations to boost the development of regional startup communities. The $500,000 in grants from the Strong Entrepreneur Ecosystems program will allow the Downtown Northampton Association, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, and Worcester’s Venture Forum to each drive more openness and collaboration among entrepreneurs, government, academia, nonprofits, and anchor institutions in each region, uniting organizations that welcome diverse innovators and encouraging them to start and scale companies.
WESTBOROUGH, MASS. – Today, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech (MBI) announced the first group of 35 municipalities supported by the Commonwealth’s Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program, a statewide effort to guide municipal decision-making and investments that will increase access, adoption, and usage of the internet, in particular for populations most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The municipalities in the program receive expert consultation on the determining factors of digital access, including internet availability and affordability, access to connected devices, and digital skills training.
Springfield, Mass. – Leaders from the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Economic Development and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at MassTech announced $14 million in new grants from the state’s Digital Equity Partnerships Program to address statewide digital equity gaps during an event today at The Tech Foundry in Springfield. The three grants were announced by Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, who highlighted the selected projects from Tech Goes Home, which will receive $4.5 million,; Vinfen, on behalf of the Human Services Alliance for Digital Equity, which will receive $4.3 million; and Baystate Health, on behalf of the Western MA Alliance for Digital Equity, which will receive $5.1 million.
WESTBOROUGH — The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech Collaborative (CAM) and more than 85 organizations from across the Northeast have submitted a proposal to the federal government to create the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition, a regional hub that will advance the microelectronics needs of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) while spurring new jobs, workforce training opportunities, and investment in the region’s advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. The Coalition submitted the proposal to the DoD’s Microelectronics Commons program, which is funded by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act that aims to onshore the manufacturing of microelectronics and semiconductor technologies and support workforce training for these industries.
WESTBOROUGH — The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech Collaborative has launched the third round of its Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP), which aims to co-invest in small- to medium-sized manufacturers across the state. MMAP aims to help manufacturers that are looking to increase their competitiveness, upskill their workforce and meet the demands of ‘Industry 4.0’ by incorporating innovation-driven technologies such as automation, robotics, and connected devices into their production lines.
