USTAR-Supported Technologies Help Pave Way For STEM Workforce Development

STEM

In the era of unprecedented technological revolution, Utah’s tech industry is growing faster than any other state in the United States. However, the state lacks in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workers, which could cause it to lose the competitive advantage it enjoys at present. In addition, the shortage of a skilled, technical workforce affects the government’s efforts for job creation and growth. This is where the state-sponsored USTAR (Utah Science Technology and Research) organization comes in. USTAR helps local companies and enterprises to expand their technical knowledge-base through entrepreneurial support programs and competitive grants.

In order to minimize the gap between jobs and skilled laborers, a key part of USTAR’s mission is to endorse sustainable growth and diversification of the economy. This is achieved by building STEM workforce development opportunities through technological activities at universities and by supporting start-ups. According to the STEM experts, the technology and science industry support programs are necessary for the continued, long-term growth of the engineering and science industry in the state.

This is an urgent requirement because most of the STEM vacancies remain unfilled in Utah. To address this challenge, over the past two years, USTAR has provided more than 360 student tech-based STEM workforce development projects, along with a 7% increase in trained students in the STEM workforce. The organization also provides opportunities to the undergraduate and graduate students to work on technology commercialization projects while they are enrolled in higher education institutions. Along with these tech commercialization projects, the organization also offers technical workforce development opportunities through its project BioInnovations Gateway (BiG), which aims to propose biotech start-up businesses and communal student facilities, technical resources, equipment and talent.

It can be concluded that USTAR is playing a crucial role in bridging the gap between job creation and STEM workforce availability in Utah. To ensure the growth of the tech industry and economic diversification, the organization must keep capitalizing on R&D activities at different universities and businesses, along with expanding its support programs.

The secret Snapchat R&D project is not so secret anymore..

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Keeping a major project secretive in a globally successful company has always been a challenge in LA or SF and when that hugely successful company happens to be Snapchat, this mission proves to be all the more challenging. Now the secret is out; Snapchat R&D is building a new office in the remote location of Lehi, Utah, located 30 miles of Salt Lake City.

This remote location was selected as it is a respectable distance from other social media giants such as Facebook and will allow Snapchat to develop new app features and hardware devices beyond the prying eyes and ears of its competitors.

Snapchat has been able to tap a supply of engineering talent from Brigham Young University as the University is only a 25-minute drive away. Snapchat’s association with BYU has proven to be very significant in the past. They struck gold by acquiring the founders of Scan.me who were studying at the University at the time. The founders of Scan.me worked together with Snapchat to develop QR codes that evolved into Snapchat’s scannable Snapcodes.

Lehi is also home to the massive Intel and Micron-backed semiconductor fabricator plant, IM Flash Technologies. IM Flash Technologies led Lehi to produce one in 12 of the world’s flash memory chips as of 2013.

Snapchat’s new Lehi lab allows the company to recruit where other companies cannot, as talent from BYU and IM Flash might not be as eager to leave the quiet Utah life for the big cities, where other social media giants are based.

The whispers of Snapchats new R&D lab first began when a major Apple engineer from Utah announced he was leaving the company to start a new job at Snapchat. Snapchat have since confirmed the rumours and are excited about the opportunity to hire local Utah talent. Snapchat already have several offices across the U.S. and international cities, and this expansion is a product of the company’s growth.

Just like Snapchat, if your company is also engaging in research activities, it may be eligible for an R&D Tax Credit. An R&D Tax Credit reduces the cost and risk of undertaking R&D activities for your business. The benefit helps companies doing eligible work to create new or improved products, processes and services by reducing their tax. To find out if your company could be eligible, complete Swanson Reed’s quick and simple contact form.

Swanson Reed also regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

IKEA is going to Mars?

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While IKEA is commonly known as the Swedish King of flat packs and the ‘build your own furniture’ company, the design team are now taking on an entirely new venture.. or should we say an entirely new planet!

Recently the IKEA design team traveled to and lived inside the Mars Desert Research Center in Utah for three days. The visit was intended for their space-inspired furniture collection scheduled to launch in 2019 as well the possibility of IKEA actually making it to Mars one day!

The center is operated by the NASA Mars Society and simulates a Mars environment for humans taking part in experiments and training. Astronauts spend long periods of time inside this research center to prepare themselves for space flights and ultimately the future endeavors of one day exploring the actual planet Mars.

The IKEA designers were able to learn about how space affects an entire design process by gaining a firsthand insight of how the designing of furniture is affected by the demanding space environmental forces.

As air is very limited in space and must be reused for many months or even years, this then reflects on the living materials as it must be designed with this in mind.

The creative leader of IKEA referred to the experience as “crazy and fun”. The team were completely isolated for three days and got first hand insights into what astronauts go through for three years. The research center consists of a tight two story space which is only eight meters in diameter.

IKEA designers also learnt about the huge costs involved in space transportation, as it can cost about $2 million to transport just one kilo of mass to the surface of Mars.

While this currently makes it impractical for IKEA to send materials to Mars, it generated an entirely new design process perspective. Storage and furniture would need to be created in an entirely new and innovative way which is completely shifting from traditional methods.

Marcus Engman, Ikea’s Head of Design, said putting the designers in this demanding environment forced them to think much more creatively and ultimately producing completely innovative solutions. These solutions have the potential to work better than anything else ever seen on Earth.

IKEA designers will continue working with people from NASA and students from Sweden’s Lund University and are excited about the future of IKEA’s space-inspired collection.

Swanson Reed assist clients that have innovative businesses everyday to help them achieve the best R&D tax credit possible. If you think your business may be eligible for any R&D Tax Credit or would like to simplify the process, contact a Swanson Reed R&D Tax Adviser today.

How Does Your State Rank on the Innovation Scale?

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Innovation Is Key

Innovation is crucial to sustainable economic growth, but for innovation to occur businesses must have both the incentive and the capacity to invest.

As innovation is key to the United States’ economy as a whole, many U.S. states are showing off while others are falling short when it comes to patents, R&D, venture capital and academics.

So which states are excelling in innovation and which ones are lacking, you ask?

Patents

The top states in patents per population include:

  1. Wisconsin
  2. Washington
  3. Texas
  4. Utah
  5. California
  6. Massachusetts

The bottom five patented states include:

  1. Alaska
  2. Mississippi
  3. Tennessee
  4. West Virginia
  5. Wyoming

Venture Capital

The top states for venture capital are:

  1. Massachusetts
  2. California
  3. Utah
  4. Washington
  5. Colorado

The lowest are:

  1. Arkansas
  2. Alaska
  3. Hawaii
  4. Wyoming
  5. Iowa
  6. South Dakota

R&D Spending

The leaders in R&D spending are:

  1. Delaware
  2. Michigan
  3. California
  4. Connecticut
  5. Massachusetts

The states that spent the least on R&D include:

  1. Arkansas
  2. Wyoming
  3. Louisiana
  4. Alaska
  5. Mississippi

Academics

As for academics, the top states include:

  1. New Mexico
  2. Maryland
  3. Rhode Island
  4. Massachusetts
  5. Alabama

The lowest academic rankings were for:

  1. Louisiana
  2. Arkansas
  3. Delaware
  4. Wyoming
  5. Nevada

If you are a U.S. based company conducting R&D you may be eligible for the federal and/or state research tax credit. Please contact a Swanson Reed representative to find out further information.