I was invited to the official announcement of Digital Sandbox KC, an unprecedented partnership among private companies, universities and government agencies to spur development of local IT-related start-up businesses. Maria Meyers, director of the UMKC Innovation Center and the driving force behind the Sandbox concept, announced the 15-member Advisory Board to Digital Sandbox KC. The event was held at the historic Union Station of Kansas City and the meeting room overflowed with people, all wondering just the Digital Sandbox would mean for our community and them personally.
According to the multitude of speakers, “Entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to brainstorm and problem-solve with top people from the private sector corporate partners to find marketable applications for new discoveries, as well as ‘orphan technologies’ from both corporate- and university-based development labs.
In terms of eligibility, all ideas related to IT are welcome; but the Sandbox will have four key focus areas:
- Data center and cloud operations,
- Big data and data analytics,
- Mobile applications, and
- Data security.
It’s an exciting announcement, let’s hope it lives up to its promise!