A student walks on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City in April. (Erika Bolstad/Stateline)
Utah is growing to be one of the most innovative states in the U.S. If you ask the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, their experts would say it ranks No. 1 among the other states for innovation capacity and outcomes.
That ranking spot was determined because of the state’s Innovation Intelligence Index score, an Indiana Business Research Center metric that measures core attributes of innovations, including human capital, business dynamics, employment, productivity and economic well-being. However, the study also considered additional data from other “additional data from other credible sources and insights from in-depth interviews of Utah’s innovation ecosystem leaders and pioneers,” according to the report.
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The Beehive State has a broad umbrella of industries that attract human capital and knowledge creation, according to a news release. Some of those are in “various levels of maturity,” the report found, making a deep emphasis on aeronautics; space exploration and defense; energy production; finance, fintech and headquarters; health care and life sciences; and technology and information systems.
Higher education institutions, highlighted as part of Utah’s innovation ecosystem in the report, offer degrees that align with those industries. And, the state allocates more funds to the schools compared to the national average.
“For instance, Utah State University (USU) specializes in aerospace engineering and technology,” researchers wrote. “While the University of Utah excels in life sciences, health care, general engineering, and business degrees for financial services and fintech.”
Private institutions such as Brigham Young University, which is a leader in business programs, also contribute to this landscape, the report reads.
The report comes after a legislative audit recommended cutting some low-performing programs and prioritizing degrees that attract students and improve their employment outcomes. Though the Utah System of Higher Education already collaborates with academic institutions and private companies to expand career opportunities, the study advises keeping collaborative partnerships between government, schools and industries.
In addition to changes in demands for certain degrees, students have also shifted other preferences in their learning experience — they would like more in-person collaboration and fewer lecture-based classes, a higher education leader told the researchers.
“This shift indicates a demand for a more experiential and interactive learning environment. Developing and expanding workforce training programs will help bridge the gap between academic and industry requirements,” the report reads. “Such programs should focus on equipping students with practical skills and an understanding of the cultural and environmental aspects of the future workplaces.”
The study, also co-led by the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah), explains that Utah’s success, apart from its higher education system, is attributed to “a well-trained workforce, social infrastructure, collaboration among innovation ecosystem actors, and a culture of innovation,” according to the release.
“And with specific industry-aligned innovation ecosystems in Utah now identified, this initial evaluation highlights opportunities for their continued maturity and success,” Nate Lloyd, director of economic research at the Gardner Institute and lead author of the report, said in a statement.
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