Montgomery, Ala. – July 31 2018 – A new innovation center is taking shape in downtown Montgomery. Dubbed “MGMWERX,” the center will bring military, academia, government and industry technologists together to solve key issues facing the Air Force and will eventually serve as an incubator for broader innovation projects.
MGMWERX is a unique collaborative project of Air University (the leadership-development center for the Air Force), the City of Montgomery, Montgomery County and the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. National nonprofit DEFENSEWERX will be operating the center and has successfully deployed similar models like SOFWERX, with Special Operations Command based in Tampa, Fla.; and AFWERX, teaming with the Air Force out of Las Vegas. This unprecedented partnership between regional public and private entities is part of a joint effort between industry leaders to provide local businesses the opportunity to grow and propel Montgomery forward as a city of innovation and collaboration.
“The dream of MGMWERX is to harken back to our legacy as the Air Corps Tactical School and once again deliver groundbreaking solutions to the warfighter and become the breeding ground of innovative thought to the Air Force,” said Michael Gray, Air University’s Chief Financial Officer and lead AU representative for the initiative.
Under the leadership of MGMWERX’s new director, William Martin, former director of the Franklin Furniture Institute at Mississippi State University, the alliance will bring more top-tier technology talent to Montgomery. Martin brings 30 years of experience in innovative business strategy development to the team and will work alongside MGMWERX deputy director Steve Werner, former researcher and integration strategy developer at Air University.
As part of this partnership, the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce has donated office space for MGMWERX in the Chamber’s current building at 41 Commerce Street in the heart of downtown Montgomery and near Air University. Offering the space to MGMWERX allows the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce the opportunity to diversify the regional economy and attract more technology talent to the area as well as preserve regional military programs already in place. The Chamber will also continue to improve the city’s quality of place, grow Montgomery’s image and foster trust, communication and collaboration among elected leaderships throughout the River Region. Renovations for MGMWERX are currently underway in the office space and are set to be completed in August.
“MGMWERX is the latest milestone in our technology and innovation strategy that is focused on connecting and leverage Montgomery’s unique technology related assets – with IT talent being one of the top,” said Joe Greene, vice president at Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. “The center will drive collaboration and innovation that just wasn’t possible before and will leverage talent from across sectors to come up with creative solutions.”
DEFENSEWERX is currently hiring personnel to work with this program in Montgomery while Air University is fine tuning its plans and expectations for the project and considering which topics the program should tackle first. MGMWERX will start working on Air Force topics in the next few months, and DEFENSEWERX expects see results and products from the program by early 2019.
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For more information, please visit www.mgmix.net.
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Montgomery, Alabama Welcomes Innovation Center to Heart of the City
Tuesday, July 31, 2018