Courtney Kerr, Author at CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership

How Field Atlas is Preparing Students for Careers in Environmental Studies, Sustainable Agriculture

Courtney Kerr2025-11-17T09:45:22-05:00November 17, 2025|

This article was originally published by Hoosier Ag Today. Click here to read the original article. Before Field Atlas ambassadors and students take their Agbioscience company tours, the students are introduced to Indiana ag leaders during the Field Atlas mentorship dinner. This gives students the opportunity to connect with agbioscience professionals who are actively working in careers that feed the world, protect the planet, and improve lives. Photo courtesy of AgriNovus Indiana. There are many different careers in the agbioscience industry. But, many college students may not be aware of the ones that focus on environmental studies and sustainable agriculture. “I really want to work in conservation, and I know that conservation is such a big part of agriculture,” says Aliviah Cartwright, who is a natural resources and environmental management major at Ball State University. She’s also a Field Atlas ambassador [...]

Purdue Innovates Accelerator launches inaugural cohort with five Purdue-connected startups

Courtney Kerr2025-11-17T09:29:09-05:00November 17, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. Spring 2025 sees the inaugural cohort of the Accelerator program come together for transformative growth through the power of the Purdue entrepreneurial ecosystem. These exceptional founders and teams were chosen from an incredible amount of Purdue-connected talent during the initial application cycle. The program officially begins March 26 at the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in the Discovery Park District at Purdue. “We are incredibly excited to kick off the very first iteration of the Purdue Innovates Accelerator,” Purdue Innovates Incubator Associate Director Doug Applegate said. “The innovation and talent on display is incredible. Our team can’t wait to help them take their next giant leap over the next [...]

‘So much potential for this technology’ — Four Purdue researchers selected for 2025 Commercialization Fellowship

Courtney Kerr2025-11-17T09:19:55-05:00November 17, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. Purdue Innovates and three Purdue University colleges have announced four recipients of a Commercialization Fellowship. The fellowship provides recent Ph.D. graduates and postdoctoral researchers an opportunity to advance the commercialization of Purdue-owned intellectual property. Alongside faculty inventors, each fellow will work towards a ready-to-license technology or a defined pathway to a startup company. Their work is based on intellectual property already disclosed to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. College of Engineering Inventor: Xiulin Ruan Andrea Felicelli Andrea Felicelli sees a world of possibilities emerging from her work developing cooling technology and paints that can [...]

AnalytiXIN 2025 Summit: Indiana’s AI & Data Community, In Action

Courtney Kerr2025-11-17T08:42:17-05:00November 17, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. On August 14–15, 2025 at the 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis, more than 170 people—faculty, students, industry leaders, and community partners—came together for the AnalytiXIN Summit. The goal was simple and practical: match real-world industry problems with the right academic expertise to move ideas forward faster. Over a day and a half, participants formed mixed university–industry teams, tested early solutions, and focused on challenges that matter for Indiana’s economy. What Is AnalytiXIN and Why It Matters AnalytiXIN (pronounced “Analytics Indiana”) is a strategic initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP). We connect universities, industry, and community leaders to drive data-driven innovation, helping Indiana become a national destination for [...]

‘One Health’ to be focus of Life Sciences Summit

Courtney Kerr2025-11-13T15:42:55-05:00November 13, 2025|

This article was originally published by Inside Indiana Business. Click here to read the original article. INDIANAPOLIS - BioCrossroads, the initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership focused on promoting Indiana’s life sciences sector, is hosting its annual Life Sciences Summit on Thursday. The event, being held at the recently opened Elanco Animal Health global headquarters in downtown Indianapolis, brings together more than 250 leaders to discuss “the most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities” in the life sciences industry. The theme of this year’s summit is “One Health: Indiana’s Blueprint for Global Leadership,” which is a reference to the One Health Innovation District, an emerging industry hub being developed by Elanco, Purdue University and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The new Elanco headquarters building is the first part of the burgeoning district, plans for which also include a shared-use facility for the three partners. BioCrossroads [...]

Conexus Indiana honors Mark DeFabis, Former CEO of IDS Fulfillment, with 2025 Andre B. Lacy Vanguard Award

Courtney Kerr2025-11-11T09:59:17-05:00November 11, 2025|

INDIANAPOLIS – November 11, 2025 – Mark DeFabis, former chief executive officer of IDS Fulfillment, has been named the 2025 Andre B. Lacy Vanguard Award recipient, joining an esteemed group of leaders recognized for their extraordinary impact in Indiana’s advanced manufacturing and logistics industries. Conexus Indiana presents the Vanguard Award annually to a Hoosier leader who champions these industries, models civic leadership and challenges the status quo. The award is named in honor of Andre B. Lacy, a philanthropist and business leader with a lasting impact on Indiana as the third-generation leader of Lacy Diversified Industries Ltd. (LDI). Previous honorees include Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech Community College; Eric Holcomb, the 51st Governor of Indiana; Thomas V. Easterday, retired senior executive vice president of Subaru of Indiana Automotive; F. Joseph Loughrey, former president of Cummins Inc.; Cathy [...]

12 Regional Groups to be Awarded $1.2 Million for New Statewide Career Apprenticeship Initiative

Courtney Kerr2025-10-31T14:35:43-04:00October 31, 2025|

Student recruitment for INCAP to begin in early 2026 Twelve regional organizations have been selected to serve as liaisons for student and school participation in the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP), a new pathway to prepare Hoosiers for in-demand careers and help Indiana businesses find and train employees. These organizations will use funding to develop detailed plans for implementing INCAP in their assigned regions. Their role as an INCAP Connector will include recruiting high school students for INCAP apprenticeships, supporting student and school success, and interacting with Industry Talent Associations in six industries that have significant workforce needs: advanced manufacturing and logistics, banking, construction, healthcare, IT, and life sciences. Once their plans are finalized and approved early next year, each organization will receive additional funding to implement their plans. In all, the organizations should receive $100,000 each, for a [...]

Students Apply Data Science Skills to Real-World Energy Challenges at TechPoint’s First Xtern Challenge, Hosted by MISO

Courtney Kerr2025-11-03T13:37:07-05:00October 30, 2025|

TechPoint’s first-ever Xtern Challenge brought together Indiana’s top student talent for a hands-on, data-driven competition hosted by MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator). The event invited teams to apply their technical and analytical skills to a real-world problem facing one of the nation’s most critical industries: maintaining a reliable and cost-effective energy grid. The new program builds on TechPoint’s mission to expand work-based learning opportunities that connect students with industry partners and help them gain practical experience solving challenges that matter to Indiana’s economy. What is the Xtern Challenge? Launched in Fall 2025, the Xtern Challenge is a series of hackathons, design sprints, and case competitions where students collaborate on real-world business problems designed by Indiana companies and work alongside industry mentors. These events give students a chance to apply their classroom knowledge to practical challenges while learning new tools, gaining feedback from professionals, and building their experience to [...]

Heartland BioWorks headquarters planned for 16 Tech

Courtney Kerr2025-10-30T11:25:16-04:00October 30, 2025|

A conceptual rendering of the Heartland BioWorks headquarters at 16 Tech in Indianapolis. (Rendering Provided/Applied Research Institute) This article was originally published by Inside Indiana Business. Click here to read the original article. The Applied Research Institute in Bloomington plans to locate the headquarters for Heartland BioWorks at the 16 Tech Innovation District in downtown Indianapolis, the institute announced Monday. Heartland BioWorks was designated as a federal technology hub by the U.S. Department of Commerce in October 2023 to support growth in biomanufacturing innovation and workforce development. The two-story, 20,000-square-foot facility at 16 Tech is being designed to serve not only as the hub’s headquarters but also a workforce training and innovation center, ARI said. The $24.3 million facility is being funded with $18.3 million from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, as well as $6 million investment from [...]

Innovation Grove at Rose-Hulman: Advancing Indiana’s Tech and Entrepreneurial Future

Courtney Kerr2025-11-17T08:34:28-05:00October 28, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology—ranked the nation’s No. 1 undergraduate engineering college by U.S. News & World Report for 27 consecutive years—has begun construction on Innovation Grove, a new entrepreneurial district designed to fuel collaboration, innovation, and economic growth in Indiana’s Wabash Valley. Part of the $102.3 million Trails to Innovation initiative, Innovation Grove will bring together students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and industry partners in a dynamic environment that blends hands-on learning, real-world engineering through Rose-Hulman Ventures, and partnerships with Union Health and the Indiana Orthopedic Institute. The district will feature advanced lab spaces, a new surgical center for hip and knee replacements, renewable energy initiatives including a 5MW solar farm, and collaborative areas for startups and [...]

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