It’s Demo Day for participants in this summer’s ISE Coding Garage, an app development workshop for high school students. There is a nervous energy in the room as students prepare to demonstrate the mobile apps they’ve been developing for the past eight weeks as part of a STEM initiative developed by Coralville-based Innovative Software Engineering (ISE) and supported by the University of Iowa...

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) today announced a $1.5 million grant for a cutting-edge biomedical and electronics prototyping hub, called protostudios, to support small businesses and train students in Iowa. Protostudios will be located within downtown Iowa City’s MERGE space in the former Wedge pizzeria on the west side of the Iowa City Public Library building. MERGE, expected to...

As MERGE prepares for its opening this fall, Chuck Romans is busy assisting grant proposals, researching and purchasing equipment, establishing training programs, and refining the design of the space. Romans started as the new engineering coordinator for MERGE in January.

Tradeshow marketing can be a hassle. Traditional banners are common, boring, and can’t be easily updated; projectors require space and have poor image quality; and large screens are expensive and difficult to transport.

UI Partners, part of the University of Iowa Office of Research and Economic Development, is hosting a logo contest for MERGE, the new creative factory in downtown Iowa City, scheduled to open next spring.

UI Partners, part of the University of Iowa Office of Research and Economic Development, recently launched a new website for IC Kitchen Connect, a toolkit for connecting food entrepreneurs and shared-use kitchen facilities in the area.

Although Forbes has named Iowa one of the best places in the nation to do business, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Bloomberg News said in 2014 that African Americans and women in the state still struggle to succeed in business here. To help turn the tide, the University of Iowa and UI Partners, part of the UI Office of Research and Economic Development, are sponsoring an Untraditional...