Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus was cited as a key reason the state of Virginia emerged as a winner last year in the fierce, nationwide competition to house a second headquarters for Amazon.
“Biggest Lure for Amazon May be Campus Not Cash,” read the headline of an Associated Press story, published after it was announced that Amazon’s HQ2 and the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus will locate close to each other in Northern Virginia. To attract Amazon, Virginia asked the state’s higher education institutions how each one could contribute to a comprehensive higher education package to create a tech talent pipeline. Virginia Tech responded with a 50-page proposal outlining a vision from President Tim Sands for a million-square-foot campus specifically designed to foster collaboration and innovation.
From the Judges
The team at Virginia Tech put together an excellent plan to announce their new campus. We were impressed with the involvement of multiple offices across campus, as well as constituencies both on campus and in the new location.
