IEC’s grand opening marks culmination of two-year construction project

September 28, 2023

THE PLANS FOR THE construction of the Innovation & Entrepreneuroship The plans for the Center started in 2021. Students will start using the building for IEC and core curriculum classes after the ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 30.

After nearly two years of construction, the grand opening of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center is just around the corner. With news breaking of the building’s plans in February 2021, construction operations began in October 2021. The building’s focus on entrepreneurship is integral to Masters’ mission statement, which encourages students to navigate challenges, take risks, and learn from setbacks.

Over the summer, Masters entered into an agreement with Horn Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware. Horn Entrepreneurship has been recognized by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top 50 undergraduate schools for entrepreneurial studies, securing the 38th spot. In the Northeast, Horn ranks eighth. Horn is now the sponsor of the Diamond Challenge and Masters is one of only 18 Diamond Challenge Pitch Partners in the country.

The school intends to open the IEC building at the month’s end, with the ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for September 30.

John Chiodo, the director of Innovation, Engineering, and Computer Science at Masters, shared his excitement, saying, “I’ve been down to the site once or twice per week for the last few weeks, and they are making great progress. While it might look quiet from the outside, there are 70+ workers in the building at any given time. We have already moved in four major pieces of new equipment, and the workshop equipment is being delivered and set up on the twenty-first [of September].”

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I’ve been down to the site once or twice per week for the last few weeks, and they are making great progress. While it might look quiet from the outside, there are 70+ workers in the building at any given time.

— John Chiodo, the director of Innovation, Engineering, and Computer Science at Masters

Among the many benefits the IEC will bring, one of the most anticipated is the convenience it will offer to students like sophomore Jordan Lee, who is enrolled in the school’s computer science course. Lee expressed her eagerness for the change, stating, “I’m ready to be in a different space; I’m sick of being in Cushing [Dorm]. All the engineering classes and entrepreneurship classes are in Cushing; I hate walking up the hill, and it’s going to be nice to have desktops instead of having to use laptops.” With the IEC’s accessible location and upgraded equipment, students can look forward to a better learning experience.