University-Based Economic Development (UBED) has been a top priority for Virginia, and yesterday VEDP executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Virginia’s public institutions of higher education and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
Through increased partnership in marketing and outreach, the goals of the MOU are to unify Virginia’s message in the global marketplace and provide a higher number of corporate contacts for VEDP and increased opportunities for Virginia’s institutions of higher education to interact with corporate entities.
The MOU creates a formal framework around an already existing relationship between VEDP and Virginia’s colleges and universities. Virginia’s UBED team has been in existence for seven years and has fostered collaboration on numerous workforce development and research projects.
According to VEDP President and CEO Martin Briley, “This MOU provides a meaningful blueprint to more fully leverage higher education as a differentiator in our economic development outreach marketing, and it reinforces the message to our corporate partners that our public colleges and universities are dedicated to leveraging research and workforce assets to benefit the business community.”
Access to a solid pipeline of skilled and educated employees can be a deciding factor when companies seek to relocate or expand operations. Virginia has one of the most well-educated workforces in the country—more than 34 percent have at least a bachelor’s degree and more than 500,000 students are enrolled annually at Virginia’s top-ranked higher education institutions.
To learn more about the Commonwealth’s premier education system and why its workforce is consistently commended by companies, click here.
(From left to right) Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng; Peter Blake, Executive Director of SCHEV; Dr. Michael Rao, President of Virginia Commonwealth University; Secretary of Education Laura Fornash; and Martin Briley, President and CEO of VEDP; participate in the MOU signing ceremony.
