AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Community College (ACC) is expanding its manufacturing incubator to help support students who aim to become involved with Central Texas' growing manufacturing sector.
The college celebrated the grand opening of its newest manufacturing incubator, the Impact Lab, on Oct. 14. The Impact Lab is the college's third manufacturing business incubator and training lab.
While the Impact Lab is ACC's third manufacturing incubator, according to a press release, it "is Austin's first innovation center focused on physical producer development and manufacturing."
This new lab comes after U.S Sen. John Cornyn and U.S Rep. Michael McCaul toured ACC's manufacturing spaces and announced the CHIPS act would provide $200 million to help fund workforce development.
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However, ACC's Impact lab was funded by a grant from the National Economic Development Administration's Regional Innovation Strategies, a program that aims to help elevate regional economies by funding "scalable" startups with venture and capital challenge. The Impact Lab also acquired funding from local organizations such as Austin Technology Incubator, Autodesk, the City of Austin and Amazon web services.
Students can get hands-on experience through using the facility's workbench spaces and tools provided for prototype and assembly testing. ACC's 5,000-square-foot facility also features a variety of 3D printers and different systems used for laser cutting, etching and engraving.
Guests at the grand opening were able to take a tour of the new facility, learn more about how to use the lab as well as local manufacturing startups, and experience a career exploration event.
Businesses and students interested in applying to use the Impact Lab can apply online.
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