Patrick Henry Community College

Patrick Henry Community College's IDEA: Innovate, Design, Engineer, Accelerate (IDEA) to Support Entrepreneurial Growth

Martinsville, Virginia

Venture Challenge

Federal Share: $300,474.00
Local Match: $840,435.00

Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC) seeks to implement proven solutions to support entrepreneurship and accelerate company growth in its rural service region through building the resources and capabilities of the IDEA (Innovate. Design. Engineer. Accelerate.) Center. Established in 2016, the Dalton IDEA Center serves as a technology accelerator for innovation-based economic development and houses multiple resources and programs including the Fab Lab, Big IDEA Challenge, Startup and Grow Martinsville (entrepreneurship mentoring program), and Verizon Innovative Learning STEM camp to foster entrepreneurial growth in middle school students. With funding, PHCC will increase the capability of the Dalton IDEA Center to implement proven solutions to support entrepreneurs and will scale current offerings by introducing programming in Patrick County, the most rural and remote portion of PHCC’s service region.