The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) has published its 2023 annual report, which highlights the growing impact IALR and partners are making in Southern Virginia and beyond. In FY 23, IALR expanded its impact with the scaling of programs and the growth of the campus, technology and team.
“The last fiscal year was one of tremendous growth and expansion for our region. All the while, each of our five divisions upheld our mission of economic transformation in critical ways.” – Telly Tucker, IALR President
Just some of the new initiatives and programs launched, announced or expanded during FY 2023:
- The Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program continued scaling up toward its target of 800-1,000 annual graduates by 2025.
- The Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers (GO TEC®) program is expanding across the Commonwealth thanks to a $3.4 million grant from GO Virginia and public and private investments.
- The inaugural Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East brought more than 220 participants from around the world to the IALR campus.
- The Institute Conference Center hosted 27,600 guests at events and programs, ranging from multi-day conferences to executive business meetings to training seminars.
- IALR opened and began operations in the Center for Manufacturing Advancement, which supports industry with a variety of services and houses the U.S. Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence.
- Nearly 30 industrial sites across Southern Virginia received a higher certification from the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program, with 21 moving from Tier 2 to Tier 4 and an additional eight sites moving from Tier 2 to Tier 5, which denotes a shovel-ready graded pad site.
- A new Public Health AmeriCorps program launched to expand public health capacity through education and outreach, including public health workshops.
- IALR entered into 15 new non-disclosure agreements to partner with companies around the world by providing contract analytical and testing services.
- Five new companies announced projects in Southern Virginia and four existing companies announced expansions. These projects total 545 new jobs and $335.7 million in capital investments.
- In its ninth year, the Career ChoICE Youth Expo expanded to a second location at Hampden-Sydney College, allowing the event to reach additional students across more than a dozen Virginia localities.
- IALR received a $497,890 grant from the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission for the ExTRA (Expanding Talent through Registered Apprenticeship) program to grow state-registered apprenticeship in 15 Southern Virginia localities.
- Megabytes café launched a new and improved menu.
