Last month, the Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation, known simply as the Levan Center, introduced LEVL5: SPACE DOCK, a program focused on future entrepreneurial opportunities in the space sector in South Florida. This program is meant to boost the economy and place Broward County alongside Florida’s “space coast” as a leader in the space industry.
LEVL5: SPACE DOCK, which will be housed on the fifth floor of the Alvin Sherman Library, is currently under construction and scheduled to open in early July.
According to Andrew Aldrin, director of LEVL5: SPACE DOCK, president of the Aldrin Family Foundation and a consultant to NASA, “LEVL5: SPACE DOCK will bring the entrepreneurial spirit and financial strength of South Florida together with the strong commercial space sector of Central Florida to strengthen the position of Florida as a global leader in commercial space. This will be a crucial contribution to Florida’s ability to become a leader in the trillion-dollar space economy of the future.”
John Wensveen, the executive director of the Levan Center and NSU’s chief innovation officer, believes this initiative links South Florida to the space sector through the many emerging opportunities in the world of space and trends occurring in the industry.
“As an industry, the space sector is becoming more commercialized and less government-dominated, and that opens up a window of opportunity for entrepreneurs to create new [businesses] that can serve anything related to space, such as products and services here on Earth and any kind of technology that can be utilized in space in the future,” said Wensveen.
This program presents a unique opportunity for NSU and the South Florida community as, historically, the space industry focused on the space coast of Florida, near Cape Canaveral, with connections to the national and international space system. This program will link Broward County and the tri-county area together to create opportunities to create and commercialize new businesses or scale a smaller business into something larger.
According to Wensveen, most of the programs and initiatives represented at the Levan Center will feature topics on technology and provide strong collaborative opportunities.
“The Levan Center is designed as an economic development and education development engine, which LEVL5: SPACE DOCK is a part of. This is truly an opportunity to link all the NSU academic programs and disciplines together, [allowing] for collaboration where great things can develop from like certification programs, funding and research and academic progress,” said Wensveen.
As part of the Levan Center’s mission to become an economic and entrepreneurial leader in the industry, Andrew Aldrin, at the helm as director of the program, puts NSU in a unique position.
“The Aldrin Family is so deeply rooted in the history of space and Andrew is an innovative thinker that has a huge network nationally and internationally that can advance NSU, South Florida and the space industry. He brings a wealth of information and a history of great connections and opportunities for this institution moving forward,” said Wensveen.
