Northeastern University held a groundbreaking for the Roux Institute and Alfond Learning Center Friday at the former B&M Baked Bean site in Portland.
David and Barbara Roux said the idea to create a graduate school focused on advanced computing and artificial intelligence arose five years ago. David Roux said training people with ability and drive to be technically fluent professionals is vital to Maine's economy.
"The modern innovation economy has two pillars, digital engineering and modern life sciences. Those two things dominate the growth in the economy. If you get those two things right, there is an endless supply of demand for talent in these fields," Roux said.
Roux said experiential learning is one thing that sets Northeastern University apart.
Courtney Bloniasz graduated from Roux this year with a Master's in Analytics. She said she was advised to leave Maine to reach her career and educational goals, but Roux faculty allowed her to create the job she wanted and now holds at Maine Medical Center.
"We're often working with real data or real projects or real problems, and then gaining professional experience. A lot of my professors let me champion the creation of this job by letting me take data and use my study time to produce work that would help my team back at the office," Bloniasz said.
Roux said the Institute has an incoming class of 1,000 students, and 645 graduate students have earned degrees at the campus since its founding.
The Roux Institute has more than 200 partners in Maine's higher education system and local business community. Northeastern has 13 campuses around the world.
The $500 million project is expected to be completed in 2027.