The College of Engineering at Wichita State University will see expanded hands-on learning opportunities thanks to a state grant awarded to Groover Labs. Groover Labs is a nonprofit in downtown Wichita which provides resources to people creating start-ups, particularly in technology. 

Leah Lamunyon, director of marketing and communications for WSU’s College of Engineering, said the partnership with Groover Labs, which began in December 2024, already gives students access to projects from local businesses and entrepreneurs. 

“It was just a way to provide more opportunities for students to work on real-life projects,” Lamunyon said. “Now that they’ve received this grant, which is pretty awesome … we’ll be expanding that even more.”

The grant comes from the Kansas Department of Commerce, which split the $800,000 between Groover Labs and KU Innovation Park in Lawrence.

The Accelerating Concept to Commercialization in Kansas program is a statewide initiative with a goal of providing financial support to help launch startups, fuel local economies and create quality jobs in Kansas. 

The grant will allow students to use Groover’s downtown facility, help fund a new studio course co-taught by WSU faculty and Groover mentors, and provide resources for students to build prototypes of their own ideas. 

“If a student had an idea and wanted to create a prototype … there could be some funding for the materials and different things to be provided for that student,” Lamunyon said.

K-12 events will also have money set aside from the grants, which Lamunyon said reflect WSU’s mission of applied learning. 

“Ultimately our graduates, when they get that first job opportunity, they can hit the ground running because they’ve already experienced so much of what they will in their first job,” Lamunyon said.