Press Release

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – This week, over 300 students from across Massachusetts converged on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to participate in the MassMakes Innovation Challenge, a session, organized by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech (CAM), that combined hands-on manufacturing, engineering projects, and Q&A sessions with industry leaders. Many of the participants are currently enrolled in the state’s Innovation Career Pathways program that educates students in high demand technical fields. The event was headlined by Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, a co-chair of the statewide STEM Advisory Council, and Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, who each stressed the importance of investing in our manufacturing future and the need to support the next generation of professionals in this critical sector.

WESTBOROUGH, MASS. – The Healey-Driscoll Administration has awarded a nearly $2 million grant to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) through MassTech’s Innovation Institute to help build a cutting-edge research and development facility focused on the design, production, and understanding of autonomous systems. WPI’s new Autonomous Systems Lab will serve as a testing ground for innovative autonomous technologies that are advancing future capabilities in the automotive, transportation, healthcare, robotics, and automation and manufacturing sectors.

AMHERST, MASS. – Today, leaders from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) announced a $5 million award from the Healey-Driscoll Administration to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass-Amherst) to help create an open-access additive manufacturing and design/testing facility on campus. The grant, from the Collaborative Research and Development Matching Grant Program, will augment UMass-Amherst’s capabilities in the advanced manufacturing space and increase its collaboration with universities across Massachusetts around R&D for advanced optical technologies, which have applications in biotechnology, defense, aerospace, environmental monitoring, and general electronics.

WORCESTER, MASS. – Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration kicked off Cybersecurity Month in Massachusetts with the announcement of $1,136,911 in funding to develop a new cybersecurity training center at MassBay Community College and support the existing center at Bridgewater State University. The grants are part of the state’s SOC/Range Initiative, a program managed by MassTech’s MassCyberCenter that aims to help build a diverse generation of cybersecurity professionals through education, training, and workforce development.

BOSTON, MASS. — Today, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech (MeHI) launched a new Digital Health Challenge focused on bolstering support for Women+ communities. The event was sponsored by the chairs of the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing, State Senator Cindy F. Friedman and State Representative John J. Lawn, Jr. The kickoff for the second session in MeHI’s Challenge series brought together leaders across the Digital Health ecosystem to examine and tackle health-related issues faced by Women+, which includes the needs of cisgender women and transgender or nonbinary individuals whose health needs relate to those of cisgender women. The second event in a series launched late last year by MeHI, the new Challenge includes the issues of maternal health, reproductive equity, mental health, and disease prevention.

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that Massachusetts has been awarded $19.7 million in funding for fiscal year 2023 through the federal CHIPS and Science Act to establish the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub (NEMC), 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.

WORCESTER, MASS. — Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced more than $2.2 million in grants through MassTech Collaborative’s Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP) during the third annual Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up at Polar Park in Worcester. The MMAP grant program is managed by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech (CAM) and helps small to medium-sized manufacturers in Massachusetts scale their businesses to compete in the modern manufacturing economy. The Mash-Up brings companies, students, and state officials together annually to foster innovation and strengthen partnerships in the manufacturing sector.

WESTBOROUGH, MA – The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at MassTech has announced the second group of municipalities that will benefit from the Commonwealth’s Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program, which provides strategic consultation to cities and towns to help them identify barriers to internet access, boost direct community engagement, and execute digital equity plans to close the digital divide. The program will fund technical assistance for 27 municipalities that will help uncover the best ways to leverage existing and potential future resources, build digital skills, and engage residents in order to expand internet access, affordability, and adoption in each community.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – Today, seven companies pitched their innovative digital products to promote healthy aging to judges at the finale of the Healthy Aging Sandbox Challenge, a months-long competition run by MeHI, the Mass. eHealth Institute at MassTech. The finale, hosted at Cambridge-based venture firm The Engine, was the culmination of the first Sandbox Challenge, a virtual competition series that connects startups working to address key healthcare challenges with the Massachusetts digital health community, including world-class R&D centers across the state.

BOSTON — During an event at the White House today, President Biden, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and federal telecommunication leaders announced that Massachusetts will receive $147 million from the national Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The program will use $42 billion in federal funds to expand high-speed internet nationwide, including in Massachusetts and the other 49 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and other federal territories. Massachusetts Director of Federal Funds & Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey and Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech Michael Baldino attended the White House event.