Nebraska Innovation Campus: Building Connections to Create a Culture of Innovation

by Kate A. Engel

Nebraska Innovation Campus is alive with energy, ideas and the promise of the future as strong partners join forces to create and collaborate.

Nebraska Innovation Campus (NIC) is designed to facilitate new and in-depth partnerships between the University of Nebraska and private sector businesses. NIC is adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and strategically provides organizations with access to research faculty, facilities and students.

Nebraska Innovation Campus facilities have grown over 10+ years to include office space, a makerspace, a conference center, a local coffee shop, a hotel, lab space, pilot plant space and greenhouse space. 

Nebraska Innovation Campus is home to an ever-growing roster of companies that includes private businesses and University of Nebraska entities and welcomes companies of all sizes. Called NIC Partners, organizations leasing space at NIC are a mix of startups, medium sized companies and larger companies. The diverse mix of companies located on the campus creates and builds a culture of innovation and creativity.

Space & Place

Spaces and culture that inspire. 

Nebraska Innovation Studio (NIS) is a community-oriented makerspace that serves as a hub for innovators, artists and entrepreneurs. Located on Nebraska Innovation Campus, Innovation Studio is one of the nation’s top makerspaces and houses a full metal shop, wood shop, rapid prototyping room, art studio, ceramics and textiles equipment and more. Innovation Studio is open to university faculty, students, staff and community members for a monthly membership fee. Makerspace members receive free training on all equipment. For more information about taking a tour of NIS, becoming a member and seeing full equipment lists, please visit INNOVATIONSTUDIO.UNL.EDU. 

The Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center is housed in a historic building that has been reconstructed to provide a unique full-service conference center. Operated and managed by the Nebraska Alumni Association, the conference center provides multi-functional meeting and collaboration space that includes a 400-seat auditorium, 350-seat banquet hall and eight breakout rooms. Each space features state-of-the-art audio and visual capabilities. For more information and to book your conference, meeting or event, please visit INNOVATE.UNL.EDU/NIC-CONFERENCE-CENTER. 

The Mill Coffee & Bistro, located on Nebraska Innovation Campus, serves as a connecting spot for NIC Partners, university faculty, staff and students, the community and campus visitors. Open daily, the coffee shop offers The Mill Coffee & Tea’s signature fresh-roasted coffees and fine teas, as well as breakfast and lunch items, wine, local beer and cocktails. Indoor and outdoor seating is available, and this location contains an event space called The Club, available for rental groups. The Mill Coffee & Bistro is full of vintage commercial coffee grinders and artifacts from buildings of the past, creating a warm and welcoming environment for all. For more information, please visit MILLCOFFEE.COM/PAGES/BISTRO.

The Scarlet Hotel is a six-story, 154-room boutique hotel located in the heart of Nebraska Innovation Campus. Designed with unique local touches and staying true to Nebraska’s motto, each room gives guests a taste of “the good life” while paying homage to local towns and homegrown heroes. The hotel includes a full-service restaurant, coffee shop, fitness facility, rooftop bar and additional high-end features to ensure an outstanding guest experience. For more information, please visit SCARLETHOTELNEBRASKA.COM.

The Food Innovation Center is a complex that serves private/public partnerships. The center provides world-class facilities for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Food Science and Technology Department and private companies in leased space. The Food Innovation Center features wet/dry lab research space, food grade/non-food grade pilot plant space, a state-of-the-art distance education classroom and office space. For more information, please visit INNOVATE.UNL.EDU/FOOD-INNOVATION-CENTER.    

The Greenhouse Innovation Center is comprised of greenhouse and headhouse space. The facility features state-of-the-art computer environmental controls, a LemnaTec High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping system and 22-foot eave heights to allow for optimal air circulation. The greenhouses are heated and cooled with sustainable energy. Tailored greenhouse services are available. For more information, please visit INNOVATE.UNL.EDU/GREENHOUSE-INNOVATION-CENTER. 

Culture

Nebraska Innovation Campus is the place to build the big idea, where imagination meets hard work and collaboration yields results. 

The Nebraska Innovation Campus staff is focused on placemaking that fosters connection—creating space, place, programs and events that encourage unplanned conversations and creative collisions. The campus allows organizations and guests to be immersed in a collaborative environment and innovative culture filled with creative energy. The intentionally designed campus environment promotes sharing of ideas and their synergistic development.

Sustainability 

Through innovative spaces, the campus strives to catalyze employee satisfaction and retention, and empower NIC Partners to reach their goals more effectively.

Sustainability matters at Nebraska Innovation Campus. Campus buildings are heated and cooled by a renewable energy source, the Centralized Renewable Energy System (CRES). The CRES uses reclaimed, non-drinkable water from the nearby Theresa Street wastewater treatment plant to heat and cool the campus buildings. This award-winning closed-loop system transfers thermal energy in underground piping to the entire campus. 

Nebraska Innovation Campus buildings are built to LEED Silver standards and enable the campus to minimize its impact on the environment while maximizing the utility and well-being of users. Abundant natural lighting and extensive measures to ensure high indoor air quality translate into tangible benefits to the health and productivity of occupants. 

Nebraska Innovation Campus is dedicated to keeping waste out of the landfill and strives to become a zero-waste facility. Compostable materials (including food waste, paper towels and cardboard) are collected and composted. Campus facilities also feature single-stream recycling and the Hefty® EnergyBag program. 

Nebraska Innovation Campus connects the talents of experts, companies, and the university through space, place, programs and events to create a unique culture of innovation. To learn more about Nebraska Innovation Campus and take a virtual tour, please visit INNOVATE.UNL.EDU.