WESTBOROUGH – The Massachusetts eHealth Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative recently announced awards for the new Right Care 4 You grant program totaling $189,360 for two digital health companies to support pilot projects with Massachusetts employers to help reduce their healthcare costs. The two competitive grants were awarded to Fitbit to conduct a randomized controlled trial with UMass Memorial Health Care (UMass Memorial) employees, aimed to help prevent and manage cardiometabolic diseases using Fitbit Premium™ and Health Coaching services and to Vincere Health to conduct a pilot of their smartphone-connected smoking cessation solution with Boston Medical Center (BMC) employees.
WESTBOROUGH – On Friday, October 30th, a panel of expert judges declared Industrial Polymers and Chemicals of Shrewsbury the winner of the Massachusetts COVID-19 Health & Safety Challenge, a competition focused on developing innovations that will help Massachusetts slow the spread of COVID-19. The Challenge featured pitches from executives at eight established Massachusetts companies, who pitched their designs and business plans aimed at addressing the ongoing public health challenge. Watch the official announcement of the award on YouTube.
BOSTON – At the 2020 Massachusetts Cybersecurity Forum today, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker lauded efforts happening across the Commonwealth to boost cyber resiliency and to boost diversity in the cybersecurity sector. During his remarks, the Governor highlighted the efforts of the MassCyberCenter to assist Massachusetts communities with the development of contingency plans focusing on cybersecurity, including sessions held during spring and summer 2020.
BOSTON – During a meeting of the Commonwealth’s Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) on Wednesday, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that Massachusetts has been awarded a new $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology Program (DoD ManTech) to develop a manufacturing technician training program that will serve as a national model. During the meeting, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, a co-chair of the AMC, announced the award, known as “MassBridge,” which will develop and test a state-based training and career pathway model for manufacturing technicians that meets the talent needs of the national Manufacturing USA Institutes and their members.
CHICOPEE — Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced a new grant totaling approximately $2,581,109 from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) to support the development of a new advanced manufacturing center at Convergent Photonics in Chicopee, which is partnering with Western New England University (WNE) on the new facility. Called a ‘Lab for Education and Application Prototyping, or LEAP, the lab will focus on product development, training, and research in the field of integrated photonics, and will be the fourth lab of its kind in the state.
WESTBOROUGH, MASS. — Eight companies from across Massachusetts have been selected as finalists for the COVID-19 Health & Safety Challenge, the third in a series of innovation pitch competitions organized by the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) and Lever, Inc. to identify and grow innovations to slow the spread of COVID-19.
WESTBOROUGH – On Friday, August 21, a panel of expert judges declared CareAline Products of Danvers the winner of the second COVID-19 Intrapreneur Challenge, a competition focused on companies developing innovations that will help Massachusetts in its reopening processes. The Challenge featured pitches from nine established Massachusetts companies, who pitched their designs and business plans aimed at addressing the ongoing public health challenge.
CareAline Products is producing a line of reusable, FDA registered hospital gowns for Level 1 and 2 usage. CareAline received a $25,000 award to support their goal. The reusable nature of the gowns will help reduce the amount of waste generated by the increase in PPE use during the pandemic. The company has also begun production of a line of masks.
BOSTON — The Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, together with key thought leaders from the region, have launched a new training program on blockchain technology targeted at government innovators, demonstrating the Commonwealth’s commitment to supporting the blockchain revolution.
WESTBOROUGH - On Friday, July 24, 2020, a panel of expert judges declared Speakeasy Travel Supply of Cape Cod the winner of the first COVID-19 Intrapreneur Challenge, a competition focused on companies pivoting operations to produce general-use face masks. The Challenge featured pitches from 11 established Massachusetts companies, who pitched their designs and business plans aimed at addressing the ongoing public health challenge.
WESTBOROUGH, MA – Today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts launched a new project to boost the number of homegrown companies able to manufacture personal protective equipment or PPE, a critical need in the response to the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 Intrapreneur Challenge will be managed by Lever, a North Adams-based business accelerator and innovation support organization that will activate, connect, and focus companies as they pivot production capabilities to produce the materials necessary to combat the pandemic. The new effort will be supported by a $250,000 grant from the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the organization managing the Massachusetts Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT).
