The Innovation Quarter is not only a place to live and work, but also to learn. Home to major programs or departments of five different academic institutions, this true knowledge community provides a spot for students—from undergraduates to postdoctoral candidates to workforce trainees—to get an education in an environment that puts them in a community with innovators—and employers—of all kinds.
Serving close to 1,900 students and fellows, Wake Forest School of Medicine is a national leader in medical education. In addition to being the 16th largest teaching hospital in the United States, the School of Medicine also promotes clinical and basic research, focusing on areas such as regenerative medicine and cancer.
The School of Medicine uses state-of-the-art technologies and an experiential curriculum that simulates real clinical events in inpatient and outpatient settings to train medical doctors, nurses and physician assistants. The School of Medicine also provides residencies and fellowships in more than 60 disciplines. The Innovation Quarter is home to an array of programs, centers, departments and institutions of the School of Medicine including:
Explore many of the Wake Forest School of Medicine departments that reside within the Innovation Quarter.
Wake Downtown is an undergraduate campus of Wake Forest University dedicated to teaching biomedical sciences and engineering, while interacting with researchers and innovators in the Innovation Quarter.
Wake Downtown programs bridge the undergraduate and graduate studies and focuses on providing a liberal arts education in an entrepreneurial environment. These programs are located in a historic building adjacent to the Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education. Proximity allows Wake Downtown to interact with the faculty and research conducted at Wake Forest School of Medicine.
Programs at Wake Downtown include:
The Biomedical Research Infrastructure Center (BRIC) of Winston-Salem State University is an interdisciplinary research center that focuses on innovative biomedical/behavioral research programs aimed at eliminating health disparities as they relate to cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, cancer, diabetes, obesity and the neurobiology of hypertension. Supported by the National Institutes of Health, the center serves as a major point of entry for underrepresented scientists in biomedical research. The center explores partnership and business development opportunities from the neighboring biomedical science companies in the Innovation Quarter.
Forsyth Tech @ Innovation Quarter draws more than 8,000 students and trainees to downtown each year. Programs promote the development of the biotechnology workforce through the largest biotech program of any community college in the state and the only two-year nanotechnology program in the Southeast. Forsyth Tech provides support and training for small business entrepreneurs through workshops, seminars, individual counseling, and a resource library that serve business owners and entrepreneurs. In addition, Forsyth Tech partners with local businesses to provide corporate training.
Forsyth Tech @ Innovation Quarter features:
The Center for Design Innovation (CDI) is a multi-campus research center within the state-wide University of North Carolina system. Led in partnership by Winston-Salem State University, UNC School of the Arts and Forsyth Technical Community College, CDI supports the discovery economy of Winston-Salem and North Carolina through promotion of projects at the intersection of creativity, design thinking and advanced technology research. Using its 24,000-square-foot facility with laboratory, classroom and meeting space, CDI helps transform ideas by bringing together novel collaborators and research in areas such as innovative education, just and sustainable communities, and the intersection of art and science.
From restaurants and hangout spots to businesses and parking lots, there’s a lot to discover in the Innovation Quarter. Check out an interactive map to learn what’s here in addition to your school of choice: buildings, companies, green spaces and more.
Whether you’re an undergrad, a PhD candidate or workforce trainee, there are resources here to help make your studies a success. Check out some important resources that can help you find your spot in the Innovation Quarter.
The Innovation Quarter features a diverse mix of higher-ed institutions all in close proximity to one other. An HBCU. A community college. A medical school. One of the top arts conservatories in the country. Discover some of the ways that three of these institutions—Forsyth Technical Community College, UNC School of the Arts and Winston-Salem State University—collaborate with each other to create unique, quality educational opportunities that are integral to the blossoming innovation ecosystem of Winston-Salem.
In 2015, a trio of graduate students at Wake Forest University participated in a national competition that resulted in their founding of EncepHeal Therapeutics, a drug development start-up. Now located in Innovation Quarter, EncepHeal develops drugs to fight cocaine addiction. Learn how setting up shop in the Innovation Quarter has led to collaborations that help advance their business and their mission.
The Innovation Quarter brings together a unique mix of students, entrepreneurs, companies and innovators in one physical location, and it doesn’t happen by accident. Convergence is a guiding principle not only for the Innovation Quarter, but also for a growing innovation economy in and around Winston-Salem. Discover what convergence can do when people with distinct differences find their place in this unique downtown district.
