TechHelp – Idaho’s EDA University Center

As Idaho’s Manufacturing Extension Center and a partnership of Idaho’s three state universities, TechHelp is uniquely positioned to act as Idaho’s EDA University Center (UC). Acting as a conduit to Idaho manufacturers, TechHelp has been leveraging university assets since 1996 to build regional economic ecosystems that support innovation and high-growth entrepreneurship, resiliency, and inclusiveness. University Centers collaborate with other EDA partners, such as Economic Development Districts (EDDs), by providing expertise, applied research, and technical assistance to develop, implement, and regional support strategies that result in job creation, high-skilled regional talent pools, and business expansion in a region’s innovation clusters.

Around the turn of the century (this one), TechHelp leveraged an EDA grant to build and operate the New Product Development Lab at Boise State’s College of Engineering.

Though the Lab helped many inventors & entrepreneurs take their products to market over the years, we eventually learned that our student employees were our most impactful product. They met our client’s needs and developed valuable skills and experience that they took into the workplace to help more companies succeed. To create more opportunities for students and better serve clients, TechHelp garnered another EDA grant to create studio\Blu, which focuses on developing a larger group of work-ready employees with a wider range of skills.