Opinion

An investment that can turn Vacationland into a tech hub

A $100 million investment in the future of Maine is, as Gov. Janet Mills said “a shot in the arm to stabilize our economy.” More important than the money, perhaps, is the huge stamp of approval the Roux Institute and its founders, David and Barbara Roux, have imprinted on Maine.

The institute, a branch of the Boston-based Northeastern University, will offer graduate-school education to thousands of students focused in the areas of artificial intelligence and life sciences. One goal is to educate a workforce that will help a small, but strong technology and biomedical sector grow in Maine’s largest city, with the potential to spread elsewhere in the state. Another is to foster research that can spin off new products and companies.

The team, which includes David Roux, a technology entrepreneur and Lewiston native, scoured the country looking for a home for the technology and education hub that they envisioned. They chose Portland because of its potential for growth, Northeastern President Joseph Aoun said Monday.

In a state that too often feels overlooked and left behind by global economic trends, this is a valuable reminder that Maine can lead, and succeed.

That has the potential to positively change perspectives of Maine, both inside and outside of the state.

The headline on a New York Times story about the new endeavor encapsulates this. “A $100 Million Bet That Vacationland Can Be a Tech Hub, Too,” it says. “A benefactor’s big gift will create a research center in Portland, Maine, testing a small city’s ability to prosper as a magnet for innovation,” a subhead adds.

“What is it that could be most catalytic to transform and support an economy that doesn’t fully participate in the modern, tech-led innovation economy?” Roux wondered in an interview with the Times. His answer, he said, is “to bring cutting-edge technology capabilities here to Maine and northern New England.”

Put simply, the idea is to educate a workforce that will spur economic growth in Portland and beyond. Some of these jobs are currently going unfilled, some have yet to be envisioned as technology changes existing industries and creates new ones.

“The Roux Institute will be an anchor and an attraction to people far and wide,” Mills said in a statement. “Not only will it prepare people for the jobs of the future in an era defined by rapid technological change, but it will bridge the workforce gap and attract new businesses to our state.”

Some in Maine may naturally wonder why this project is coming to Portland, which is already thriving. And why not start this institution in partnership with the university system or colleges here in the state?

Geography is part of the answer. Proximity to Boston, one of a handful of U.S. cities where the innovation economy is centered, and Northeastern University, a school known for its experiential learning, is a given. In addition, the Portland area is already home to several companies that are based around technology and innovation. Several of them, including IDEXX, Tilson and WEX, have already joined the institute.

The other companies that are founding members of the institute are Bangor Savings Bank, L.L. Bean, PTC, Thornton Tomasetti, Unum, MaineHealth and The Jackson Laboratory. The institute hopes to partner with other companies that pledge to hire its graduates and pay for their education at a center that aims to enroll 4,000 graduate students within eight years.

“Often we have to look outside Maine for employees and educational opportunities for employees to transition to a new job,” Josh Broder, CEO of Tilson, a Portland-based technology company, said at Monday’s unveiling of the institute.

“Now we’ll be able to provide that opportunity in Portland,” he added.

The University of Maine System has already agreed to partner with the institute in both education and research, which could spread the benefits of the new institute to thousands of students and researchers, as well as the people of Maine through innovations in health care and other fields.

“The University of Maine is looking forward to the opportunities that the Roux Institute at Northeastern University will provide for our students to pursue advanced degrees in fields that are growing and changing rapidly through (artificial intelligence), and for our faculty to collaborate in research and education,” University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy said in a statement.

These opportunities can include the potential for new ways to detect and treat cancer and substance use disorder, for example.

This investment has already changed the conversation about Maine and has the potential to reshape the state’s economic future. This is a time for excitement and gratitude.

This editorial first appeared in the Bangor Daily News on Jan. 29.

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