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Necessity Really IS the Mother of Invention

Nothing focuses innovation like a pandemic. We are watching (and enabling) a network of highly trained engineers, university professors, and medical professionals as they work tirelessly to develop solutions for healthcare workers and patients.  A grass-roots network quickly formed in response to Covid-19. Suddenly the brightest minds were making a real impact. In real time. Within a week the team of collaborators went from 10’s to 100’s. What’s happening by the hour? New capabilities, fast collaborative solutions, and critical ventilator parts being re-engineered on the fly. Newly printed items on Sunday being stress tested for viability on Monday morning.

We’re not talking about Innovation – we are doing it in real-time.  The ground swell of effort happening here in Rhode Island is playing out in every metro area across the US, not to mention around the world. Urgency is turning ideas into impact faster than a Delta Wasp Turbo 2 can print a ventilator splitter.

Ad-hoc networks are coming together for a common cause: safety for front line healthcare workers and increasing available ventilation systems for those afflicted now. We don’t have 2 weeks – we need it now. There’s no time to employ the normal process to engineer, test, build a plastic injection mold, manufacture millions then get them into the supply chain. No time for that, print it now, test it now, save lives.

An Important Moment for RIHub

It is with this backdrop that we introduce RIHub, Rhode Island’s Hub for Innovation. We got underway late last fall. Our goal? To weave together a ‘Network of Networks’ in our region that come together to turn ideas into startups and startups into viable, stand-alone, scaling businesses.  We exist to leverage the genius and grit of our local entrepreneurs in order to create true impact in our region.  We serve entrepreneurs, students, investors, accelerators and corporations interested in using innovation to create the largest impact.

For Covid-19, we are on the front lines helping to connect the network. Researchers, professors and innovators from Brown University and University of Rhode Island and RISD working with medical professionals, inventors, entrepreneurs as well as state professionals who are coordinating supply chain. It’s a moment for our state and region to behold the miracle that is innovation in action. Wow do we ever need this now.

For you? We’re here to connect you to mentors, investors, entrepreneurs, domain experts, researchers and corporate partners.

You will be hearing a great deal more from RIHub in the coming weeks

Today we offer the world’s best Accelerators including  MassChallenge, IBM AlphaZone and CoWrks Foundry. We offer Venture Mentoring Services based on the MIT program that provides unbiased, conflict free business advice to entrepreneurs. We will be launching our “Town Hall” where we listen to your needs and bring together our network to help find solutions.

Soon we will launch a formidable online portal that brings together everyone in our region to build a better Rhode Island and world. You are one of the first to be invited to this community and we welcome your involvement.

Ways to get involved in RIHub now- Talk to us, we’re here for you.

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Posted in Invention, Rhode Island, RIHub News

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