UA Industry Engagement Day brings together business, industry leaders in Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) – A who’s who of business and elected officials gathered at the University of Alabama recently as administrators welcomed them fora meeting to talk about what it’s doing right now to help start new businesses and grow existing ones in west Alabama.

The folks who helped start Industry Engagement Day at UA say it fosters collaboration between the school and others that leads to innovation and job growth in the Tuscaloosa area.

The University of Alabama’s Office for Research and Economic Development partnered with the Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority to cohost the event, holding several forums in the Bryant Conference Center.

One of them included the president of Stillman College and the chairman of West Alabama Works among a group discussing leadership.

“Not only is it creating jobs and creating opportunities for our students, but it is also creating a critical mass of research that can be passed on to those who need it,” explained Dan Blakely, UA Assoc. VP for Economic and Business Engagement,

Industry Engagement Day brought business, community, and industry leaders together with government and elected officials and put and them in the same room with UA faculty and staff to talk about economic development partnerships and service projects to move the community forward.

“Whether it’s the physical assets, the facilities, the access to research personnel, and ultimately the talent pipeline coming through our institutions, I don’t think can be understated,” according to Justice Smith, the Executive Director of the TCEDA.

While this was just the second Industry Engagement Day, school officials want it to become an annual event.

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