LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The University of Louisville is entering a new technological frontier with the launch of the Kentucky Center for Digital Innovation.
The $10 million state-funded group aims to secure and advance the Commonwealth's tech landscape, though it currently operates as a one-man show.
Director Cody Bumgardner, who was hired to lead the initiative, said the center is just getting off the ground.
"I was hired in the beginning of last month," Bumgardner said. "So, we really just started."
Bumgardner brings extensive experience to the role. He spent nearly 25 years at the University of Kentucky, where he led the school's Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence. Now, his focus is on building a robust team at UofL, with plans to recruit six full-time staff members and students.
For Bumgardner, engaging students is key to building Kentucky's future tech economy.
"What we've found actually works really well on the student side is having a pipeline of people that then can make their way into the workforce," Bumgardner said.
On a day-to-day basis, the center will operate almost like a technology consultancy for local industries. Bumgardner and his team will work directly with companies to evaluate technical problems and scope out customized solutions.
"Almost like a consultancy, you would do a scoping conversation to say, what are your problems? What are things we can do?" Bumgardner explained. "If we can find a target that we can reach, and we think the technology is there, something we can develop, then we normally would have some preliminary work."
But the center’s mission goes far beyond advising. The group plans to build original software, design custom artificial intelligence tools and program advanced robotics.
"That's really where we should live, is having experts that know how to package things and then in some cases actually move new technologies forward to solve specific problems," Bumgardner said.
Ultimately, Bumgardner hopes this work will place Kentucky at the forefront of digital innovation on a national scale.
"We're doing things that other states aren't necessarily doing," Bumgardner said. "Like, creating our own language models and working across state agencies to do different work for the commonwealth. So, it really is a state mission."
With UofL as its launchpad, the state's new digital mission is officially underway.
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