Temple University celebrated the opening of its new Innovation Nest (iNest) in March, and its creation is to help support research-based initiatives at the university and help commercialize them, writes Ariana Perez-Castells for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The center’s 8,000-square-foot space includes wet labs, a facility for gene sequencing, meeting rooms, and an event space.

“One of the really important goals of any research university is to create solutions that help society solve problems,” said Josh Gladden, Temple’s vice president for research. “There’s a lot of ways we do that, but an important part is … taking technologies and advancing them out into the private sector where they can get developed into solutions.”

The iNest is designed to handle any types of innovation.

The hub will support innovators by connecting them to resources that can help advance an innovation through to commercialization. A team will then help the researchers identify areas of commercial interest and protect those innovations.

While the primary audience for the center is the immediate Temple research community, it is also inviting companies with ties to the school, international businesses, and other distinct partners.

“The key to the Innovation Nest is it creates that single platform to really put all this under one roof,” said Stephen Nappi, Temple’s associate vice president for technology commercialization and business development.

Read more about Temple’s Innovation Nest in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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