FAQ
What is Innovation Park at Notre Dame?
Innovation Park is the entrepreneurship facility and accelerator for the University of Notre Dame. Home to the IDEA Center and start up companies from throughout the region it is located on the south end of the University of Notre Dame campus, serving as a meeting place and hub of resources for entrepreneurs and inventors, alumni, students and investors, faculty, staff and subject matter experts!
Who is an Innovation Park tenant?
Innovation Park tenants are growth-oriented companies committed to product or service development that fulfill a marketplace need. They are energetic and vibrant risk takers who like to build, test and create real world solutions and enjoy the camaraderie of being in a community of like minded people. They are waffle eaters, free coffee drinkers, story tellers and fun seekers!
What type of services will Innovation Park provide to its clients?
As part of your lease, you will receive ultra-fast fiber internet, utilities, parking, invitations to networking and training events as well as connections to the IDEA Center's Commercialization Engine program and Notre Dame students. Innovation Park also serves as an engagement vehicle for companies that wish to utilize University centers like those in advanced imaging, clean rooms, nuclear magnetic resonance equipment and other specialized resources. A full list of Innovation Park's features and amenities are found on our facilities page.
How is Innovation Park connected to the IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame?
Innovation Park is the entrepreneurial facility managed by the IDEA Center.
How long has Innovation Park existed?
Leighton Hall at Innovation Park opened in October 2009. It was the University of Notre Dame's first step in commercializing the university's intellectual property. Quinn Hall, connected to Leighton, opened in March of 2017 and the IDEA Center was created and located in the facility, uniting student entrepreneurship, and commercialization services in one University Center. Today, it is also a community and alumni resource focused on bringing innovative ideas to the marketplace, creating industry-university relationships, and for spurring local economic growth.
Innovation Park's Facility
What type of equipment and resources are available to clients in the Park?
Innovation Park is located on 12 acres of land at the south end of the Notre Dame campus directly across the street from the Compton Ice Arena. Comprised of two distinct wings, Leighton Hall, a 55,000 square foot structure and Quinn Hall, a 45,000 square foot addition include open collaborative areas, conference rooms, offices, incubation facilities, prototyping space and lab space for lease.
Tenants enjoy:
- Office suites
- Wet Laboratories for technology platform development (additional shared lab membership add-on)
- Dark fiber broadband connectivity
- Access to local student talent
- Access to the Innovation Lab, prototyping services and space.
- Access to the IDEA Center's commercialization services
- Access to expertise and resources available through the IDEA Center’s expansive network of industry experts and capital providers
- Discounted business, professional and marketing services
- Ongoing presentations focused on startup needs
- Secure 24/7 facility access
- Monthly tenant events and mixers
- Nearby retail and residential resources
How is Innovation Park connected to Ignition Park in South Bend?
Innovation Park at Notre Dame and Ignition Park are sister parks within the Indiana State-Certified Technology Park network through the City of South Bend.
Innovation Park is owned by the University of Notre Dame and located adjacent to the University near the intersection of Angela Road and Twykenham Drive in South Bend. Ignition Park is owned by the City of South Bend and located on 83 acres southeast of Sample and Chapin streets in the former Studebaker Corridor. Innovation Park is designed to be a transformational space conducive to the commercialization of new ideas emerging through University research, and a place to demonstrate proof of commercial promise. Ignition Park serves as a prospective landing area for companies that are ready to leave Innovation Park, or for established companies that wish to relocate to South Bend from other areas around the country or the world.