Every year, the NSF Great Plains I-Corps Hub works toward a singular goal to ensure that research does not stop at discovery. The goal is to help ideas move beyond the lab and into the world where they can create economic activity and expand opportunities across the Midwest. In 2025, that work continued across six states and eleven universities, and it resulted in measurable momentum for our regional innovation economy.
This year, hundreds of innovators from across the region dedicated their time to learning how to test assumptions and understand real customer needs. Customer discovery is a core part of the I-Corps model because it prepares innovators to make evidence-based decisions about their work. Before a product is built or funded, there must be clarity about the problem it addresses and who benefits. That learning is what enables research to turn into businesses, jobs, and solutions that last.
A significant milestone this year was the expansion of the Hub. Wichita State University and the University of Kansas joined as partners, increasing access to NSF-supported training and opening doors for more teams across the region. Expansion matters because economic development is strongest when ideas and resources move across institutions and state lines. More universities in the Hub means more researchers equipped to commercialize their work and more communities connected to innovation.
Across the region, participants represented industries that reflect both current and emerging needs. Ideas focused on food and agriculture, healthcare delivery and medical technology, software and AI, renewable energy, materials science, and industrial manufacturing. This range demonstrates that innovation in the Great Plains is broad and grounded in real challenges. It also shows that universities here are developing talent prepared to work at the intersection of science and commercialization.
As we look toward 2026, we move with momentum and clarity that innovation is not an individual act but a regional effort. When universities partner, when entrepreneurs listen, and when research becomes action, communities grow stronger. The NSF Great Plains I-Corps Hub will continue to nurture that growth and remain committed to helping bold ideas become real-world solutions.
