Jessica Porta: How HQ Raleigh’s new campus is changing the future of public-private partnerships

Editor’s note: Jessica Porta is director of HQ Raleigh Community.

RALEIGH — This week marks the beginning of a new era for collaboration between the academic and the entrepreneurial community in Raleigh. As of July 1, HQ Raleigh has opened a new space directly on NC State’s campus but it’s not just for students!

HQ Raleigh already has a long standing relationship with NC State. NC State’s Entrepreneurship Clinic is an innovative program that brings students off campus and into the Raleigh business community by housing a clinic (modeled after campus health clinics) at HQ Raleigh for students to assist start-ups with their business needs.

In this next evolution of this partnership, HQ is bringing the entrepreneurial community to NC State’s campus!

HQ’s new space at Centennial (HQ@Centennial) is 23,000 square feet of co-working, classroom and office space in the heart of NC State’s Centennial Campus and, in collaboration with The NC State Entrepreneurial Initiatives’ Garage program, will offer some exciting new resources to the HQ Community.

Here are the three ways that HQ will be engaging with the university to benefit both communities

Collaboration

This unique partnership with NC State’s Real Estate Office brings together students, academic organizations, start-ups, and established companies to collaborate and share resources. HQ is working with different departments across the university, including NC State’s Partnership Office, to connect with larger companies and carry out shared programming.

Centennial is home to several larger companies looking to inject some innovation into their workplace, and now, through plugging into HQ@Centennial, they will have access to collaborate with more local, entrepreneurial minded start-ups. This opens the door to collaboration in Raleigh between larger companies, small scaling start-ups, and the student population.

Not to mention, HQ will have office space for teams of all sizes and it is especially designed for any team who wants a unique work environment with direct access to a talent pipeline.

Jobs

Which brings me to my next point: Jobs!

If you have attended any business conference in Raleigh lately, there is always a topic on attracting talent. It is a huge issue. Raleigh is growing at lightning speed. Companies are growing faster than they can hire, and new types of jobs (created by new technologies) are in high demand. What better place to source talent than on a university campus?

Companies within the HQ ecosystem will be able to plug into the physical (and digital) space and connect with entrepreneurial-minded students. Not to mention, NC State is currently building the main engineering building directly across from HQ.

On the flip side of that, students at NC State will now have more exposure and access to internship or job opportunities with start-up companies or with innovative enterprise companies located on or around campus.

Dynamic learning environment

The cherry on top of this whole project, has to be the unique partnership with the NC State’s Garage Program. The NC State Entrepreneurial Initiatives’ Garage program is a prototyping and maker space that is located directly in the space and accessible by HQ members. Members of the HQ community will be able to be trained on the equipment and work independently or alongside students to work on early stage prototypes.

Also located within the HQ space is meeting and classroom space that will be accessible to the greater HQ community to bring some of the entrepreneurial events onto State’s Campus. This means that students, start-ups, and larger companies will be working side by side to carry out projects and programming all in one convenient location!

The future of collaboration

While HQ is really jazzed about this collaboration, it is important to note that this is not the only instance of collaboration between the entrepreneurial and academic communities in our area. HQ already has existing partnerships with other colleges and university programs such as Campbell University, Meredith, Wake Tech, SKEMA and UNC; and also with high school programs such as Cary Academy, St. Mary’s, and District C. While we can’t spill the beans just yet, there is more collaboration to come with all of these partners and more!

We believe that HQ@Centennial is just the beginning. It is our hope that this type of public-private partnership is one that will serve as a model for future collaboration with NC State, but also with other academic partners.

The academic community needs to actively search for ways to bring this type of innovation onto their campuses, and the business community needs to create opportunities for this to happen. HQ Raleigh is excited to be a part of this new wave of public-private partnerships and to help Raleigh lead the way for the future of collaboration.

Come see for yourself

Whether you need a new office space, want check out co-working on campus, or just want to learn more, we encourage you to come by and see for yourself. The new space is located at 1017 Main Campus Drive, diagonally across from the hunt library. Feel free to swing by any weekday (9-5) for a quick tour or attend an upcoming event! HQ is hosting their monthly community lunch on Friday July 19th at 12pm in the new space, and there will be a larger open house in late August, with details to come!

HQ is now leasing space at HQ@Centennial, with limited office spaces available. To learn more about HQ Centennial or schedule a tour visit our site or reach out leasing@hqraleigh.com.