Central New Mexico Community College just joined the Innovation District in a big way, leasing a major portion of the First Plaza Galleria, which is just a block away from the future site of Innovate ABQ.
Albuquerque Business First reports:
“For us, it’s a different way of thinking,” Winograd said. “This is part of a community. We’re trying to compliment what is happening Downtown with the innovation discussions with the city, UNM, the mayor and (UNM) President Bob Frank.”
Overall, Winograd said, there is a large population that needs the center that is mainly young, mainly male and looking for a new way to take classes.
CNM will be building a makerspace, which is like DisneyLand for people who want to create things. If you have a physical product you want to create, a makerspace is the perfect place to design and prototype it. Makerspaces tend to have everything from CNC wood routers to 3D printers.
Just as important to the Innovation District, CNM will be including a code academy, which builds on CNM’s tech programs to bring new developers to the market place that are ready to join startups and build software. Internships with local startups will give students a jump start on experience.
CNM is working hard to remodel the building and be open for fall classes, which will bring 2,000 students to downtown.
