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GE announces maker space, ideas hub for Uni of Louisville

GE will continue
to embrace open innovation with its launch of FirstBuild, a microfactory and
community space, on Wednesday.

Tech Republic
reports that FirstBuild – a collaboration between the company, University of
Louisville and Local Motors – will focus on cooking appliances.

“This is global co-creation
paired with a microfactory on site,” said GE Appliances’ Chip
Blankenship.

“We will innovate and bring
products to market faster than ever before.”

The idea reportedly came about during
GE’s crowdsourced jet engine bracket competition last year, won by a 21-year-old
Indonesian PhD candidate from a field of over 700 entries.

“This new model will enable us to be more
creative in the design and delivery of the products and do so with lower risk
and cost while drastically reducing the time from mind to market,” Kevin Nolan, GE Appliances’ vice president of
technology said in a statement.

The Courier-Journal reports that the site will open on the university’s
Belknap campus this northern summer.

“The University of Louisville is excited to be expanding our collaboration with GE,” said the inversity’s president James Ramsey.

“Together, we’re finding new ways to grow technologies and our economy while giving our students real-world engineering experiences.”

Image: GE

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