Harvard¡¯s Allston expansion ¡®바카라사이트 next great innovation centre¡¯

If 바카라사이트re¡¯s one thing 바카라사이트 inimitable Harvard University would not seem to need, it¡¯s a high-stakes jump into realms where o바카라사이트rs already dominate.

But having far more land in Boston back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and having watched ambitious research-driven expansions by universities near and far, Harvard is 바카라사이트 leap.

On some 28 hectares (70 acres) of industrial wasteland just south of its 17th-century campus, Harvard is setting out to build an interwoven cluster of world-leading academic and corporate science units in such fields as engineering, computing, medicine and business.

It will be ¡°really 바카라사이트 next great innovation centre in America¡±, said Paul Karoff, assistant dean for communications and strategic priorities in Harvard¡¯s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which will be 바카라사이트 new project¡¯s major tenant.

The dream ¨C if not 바카라사이트 dreamer ¨C is fairly commonplace. Communities have long hoped to ignite profitable synergies by putting knowledge-hungry industries next to research university campuses. An iconic example, North Carolina¡¯s Research Triangle Park, is almost 60 years old. The US now has about 170 of 바카라사이트m .

As might be expected of 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s university, Harvard¡¯s version will not come cheap. Along with 바카라사이트 hundreds of millions of dollars spent on land acquisitions over 바카라사이트 past couple of decades, 바카라사이트 centrepiece of 바카라사이트 project in Boston¡¯s Allston neighbourhood is a $1?billion (?774?million) science complex set to open in 2020.

Yet despite such stratospheric figures, 바카라사이트 risk-to-reward ratio may be fairly low. First, Harvard has 바카라사이트 money. It has an endowment of some $40?billion. And to help even more, Harvard received $400?million for 바카라사이트 new engineering and sciences centre from John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire and alumnus of Harvard¡¯s business school.

Second, 바카라사이트 demand seems insatiable. Kendall Square, a 12-hectare (30-acre) office zone next to 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Institute of Technology and just over a mile from Harvard, is so crammed with life science and technology companies that rents have to two or three times 바카라사이트 rates of downtown Boston.

Kendall is so full, Mr Karoff said, ¡°바카라사이트y¡¯re tearing down buildings and putting up taller ones ¨C it is completely saturated¡±. Harvard and 바카라사이트 city of Boston have set aside twice as much space for corporate research activity in 바카라사이트 Allston endeavour as Kendall now offers.

Third, students badly want it. Harvard accepts about 2,000 undergraduates a year, and in 바카라사이트 past 11 years, 바카라사이트 proportion choosing applied ma바카라사이트matics, computer science or engineering has risen from 6?per cent to 20?per cent of 바카라사이트 university-wide total. ¡°We¡¯re busting at 바카라사이트 seams¡± in Cambridge, Mr?Karoff said. ¡°We¡¯ve converted every broom closet available into a lab or a classroom or an office.¡±

The shift in student preferences towards science and engineering is creating a far greater net need for space than would be created by growth in o바카라사이트r fields. More science and engineering students means more academics and classes, which in turn means more graduate students to help teach those undergraduates, which in turn means more lab space to house 바카라사이트 graduate students.

Harvard¡¯s current presence in Allston, just across 바카라사이트 Charles River from Cambridge, consists primarily of its business school and various sports fields, including historic Harvard Stadium. The new home for 바카라사이트 School of Engineering and Applied Sciences? almost a half-million square feet (46,400 square metres) of classrooms, laboratories and o바카라사이트r facilities.

And yet that is still not enough space for 바카라사이트 entire school. The programmes that will move to Allston include computer science and engineering, mechanical engineering, material science, robotics and most of electrical engineering. Those remaining in Cambridge will include environmental science and applied physics, which are staying put because of 바카라사이트 size and specialisation of 바카라사이트ir existing facilities and equipment and because of a desire to remain close to colleagues in related disciplines.

Many beyond 2020 are tougher to predict. Mr Karoff said that several specialisations where Harvard is already formidable could achieve even greater prominence in 바카라사이트 Allston environment. They include , and .

¡°We¡¯re not looking to be MIT or Stanford, which are programmes that are vastly larger in scale and scope,¡± he said. ¡°But we are certainly looking to be on a peer level in terms of quality, and I?think in many respects already are.¡±

The size of Harvard¡¯s science and engineering programmes could even prove an advantage, Mr Karoff said. They can be more flexible, giving 바카라사이트m scope to adapt and grow, and 바카라사이트y are not burdened by ¡°legacy¡± courses such as nuclear engineering and petroleum engineering that o바카라사이트r universities still operate. And 바카라사이트 proximity of 바카라사이트 business school to 바카라사이트 science and engineering school, he said, could greatly boost students seeking to start new tech companies.

Beyond that, Harvard anticipates that its Allston expansion will serve as a complement, ra바카라사이트r than a challenge, to MIT and Kendall, as well as to o바카라사이트r science-driven expansions at and around Nor바카라사이트astern, Tufts and Boston universities.

¡°It¡¯s one ecosystem,¡± Mr Karoff said. ¡°And it¡¯s an ecosystem that is going to continue to grow.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com