onMain Inc., a partnership between University of Dayton and Premier Health, will receive $35 million from Ohio’s Innovation Hubs program, state officials announced Aug. 19 as they named Dayton the site of the state’s second innovation hub.
This investment will be used for construction and initial operation of the Digital Transformation Center, which will be the cornerstone building of the onMain development at the corner of Main and Stewart Streets, just across from the GE EPISCenter, the Copeland Helix and the Roger Glass Center for the Arts. The center will serve as the hub’s headquarters.
Key points
- Led by onMain, other partners supporting the hub include Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the University of Dayton Research Institute, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County, JobsOhio and the Dayton Development Coalition. They will work toward making Dayton a global leader in the research and development of digital transformation technologies.
- Partners will create digital technology to drive advancements in aviation and national defense, including supporting the digital transformation of the U.S. Air Force to revolutionize how it designs and manufactures everything from airplanes and missiles to sensors, hardware, software and more.
- By 2031, partners anticipate the hub will lead to 2,000 new jobs, more than $39 million in additional state and local income tax revenue and $500 million in new research dollars.
- The hub will focus on developing, attracting and retaining a skilled workforce to sustain Dayton’s digital technology advancements. Goals include a 25% increase in regional STEM graduate retention by 2031, 1,400 non-traditional STEM careers, 3,000 additional STEM certifications and degrees and 2,000 STEM internships. The center will offer hands-on learning for UD students, cutting-edge research for faculty and UDRI staff, and high-paying careers for graduates. It also will partner with other universities to create pathways for non-traditional students, expanding the talent pipeline for the Air Force and high-tech Ohio employers.
What they’re saying
“The Miami Valley has always been a place where big ideas take flight, and the unprecedented collaboration that will happen under the umbrella of the onMain Innovation Hub will lead to digital technologies that will impact lives across the world. This new collaboration will be transformative for this region, leading to more investments, more jobs, and more of the world’s most innovative thinkers calling Dayton home.” – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
“We are grateful for the vision and strong support of Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Husted and for the state’s $35 million investment which will be used both to fund a highly functional building and to help build a digital future for the Dayton area. The signature facility at onMain will be a hub where innovation fuels both cutting-edge research and education, providing solutions for challenging problems and giving students extraordinary opportunities for hands-on experiences. Our partnership with the Air Force, other Dayton-area universities and colleges, and high-tech companies will open doors for students of all kinds – ranging from working professionals to local high-schoolers – ensuring a diverse and skilled workforce ready to lead in the digital age.” – University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina.
“We will build on the already strong performance of the Digital Transformation Center seedling, established by the University of Dayton and its Research Institute. This testbed opened last November and already has 17 industry members engaging with the Air Force and academia daily. The energy at the seedling serves as a proving ground for our strategy of positioning Dayton at the forefront of the digital age, driving growth for generations to come.” – Brian Heitkamp, CEO onMain and University of Dayton associate vice president of real estate management.
“The innovation hub will not only allow UDRI to amplify its development of advanced tools and resources for the Air Force’s digital materials management journey, it will also attract new and developing businesses we can collaborate with to drive new solutions for our DOD and commercial partners.” – Sukh Sidhu, vice president for the University of Dayton Research Institute.
“The DTC will provide our partners with deep insights into the Air Force’s digital material management goals, allowing them to align their efforts with its long-term vision. We’ll also be able to help develop a highly skilled digital workforce through education and training for our partners, and by providing them with access to students for internships” – Dave Dunn, UDRI division head, power & energy.
About onMain
In a message to the University community announcing today’s news, University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina wrote: “The vision for onMain began in 2017 when the University and Premier Health purchased the former Montgomery County Fairground site with the strong support and facilitation of the city and county. There was a significant planning and community engagement effort over the next few years, until the pandemic essentially halted the momentum. Now, after patient but diligent work on the part of onMain’s leadership to secure external resources and make the site conditions ready for development, onMain’s momentum has never been stronger. The University and our partners at Premier have long believed that the build-out of these 38 acres near our campuses should create opportunities that will move the Dayton region forward. This Innovation Hub award is a transformative moment, bringing us closer to that reality.” For more information about onMain, visit https://onmaindayton.com/about/.
About the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program
The DeWine-Husted administration developed the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly last year to spur investment outside Ohio’s major metro areas. A total of $125 million from the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program will be invested in the creation of innovation hubs statewide. Ohio’s first innovation hub, the Northwest Ohio Glass Innovation Hub, was announced in Perrysburg last month. For more information on the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program, visit development.ohio.gov.
