"Michigan Central" Innovation District

[Lowell]

I puzzled over how to title this thread because, well, the name chosen for the public-private district centered on Ford's being-renovated Michigan Central ~Depot~ is so unsurprising. Michigan Central.

The plans for "Michigan Central" [Ford's name noticeably absent] were detailed yesterday and highlighted by news of Google's participation in an effort to create a mini Silicon Valley of business enterprises and educational facilities. The State of Michigan is playing along to the tune of $126 million.

I think this is a most exciting and long-term beneficial project that keeps Detroit and Michigan on the cutting edge with the future of tech and industry with the preservation of a major work of architecture tossed in.

Under the partnership, the state is to direct more than $126 million in new and existing programs and spending to support or complement Ford's district, to be called Michigan Central.

Included in the announcement was news that Google will be a founding member of the district and also provide free computer science classes for local high schoolers inside the former train station. Detroit will be the first Midwest city to have those after-school and weekend classes for teens made available through Google's Code Next Lab program.

Last year, Google won a six-year contract to be Ford's “preferred” cloud-computing services provider and install Android- powered Google services in Ford and Lincoln vehicles. As part of the public-private partnership, the city of Detroit has a tentative agreement to designate a special Transportation Innovation Zone testing site within the Michigan Central district. The zone would give businesses and startups expedited approvals for trying out new technologies.

https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...a03808_1348351

[renf]

The announcement and, and funding, of a Michigan Central Innovation
District, is, I think, a very,very positive development for Detroit and southeast Michigan. Many cities wish to become the next Silicon Valley and. in most cases, their hopes are unrealistic. But the vehicle industry will be a major consumer of innovations with regard to technology and they have the financial resources to support research and design. I
was pleased to read that some funds will be allocated to training people for high tech jobs beginning with some efforts in local high schools.

The development of the Detroit area as a financial center with Quicken Loans, Ally Financial, UWM and Huntington Bank is another positive development.

And there does appear to be much discussion of the need for these
new endeavors to be inclusive and provide opportunities for all, not
just for those with advanced degrees from Cal Tech.

There are reasons to think that Detroit can arise from the ashes as
Father Gabriel Richards stated when he composed the city's motto
in 1805.

[401don]

I'm not a techie guy in the least. Can you learn enough in these part-time coding courses for high school students to gain an entry level full-time position after high school or are they more for the student to find out if they have an aptitude and should pursue college studies? I thought the 6-9 month full-time programs being offered were short as well but I can see how those might offer enough to get a student in the door.

[Margaret's boy]

Will this lead to a spill-over effect here in Windsor? So far the only major technology-related developments to come here are Dan Gilbert's purchase of the old Fish Market on Chatham Street, which was renovated and restored to its' former glory as the Canadian home of Gilbert's Rocket Mortgage and Edison Financial Services, and the purchase of the old Windsor Utilities Commission offices on Ouellette Avenue and its' renovation into the new home of Tessonics' Technology. Glad the folks at Tessonics finally got rid of that hideous metal cladding that was put there back in the 1960's for God-knows what reason.

[Lowell]

Sound to me like Ford found the right person for the job...

Joshua Sirefman, an urban planner who trained at the University of Michigan and began his career in Detroit, is returning to lead the evolution of Michigan Central Station as the new CEO of what is now a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co.

Sirefman, 54, lives in New York City and plans to look for a home within walking distance of the iconic building in Corktown, which is scheduled to open in 2023 in what city leaders have deemed a 30-acre innovation district that will advance the future of mobility.

“Part of Michigan Central's success should be defined by how much Corktown and communities in southwest Detroit feel a part of it and benefit from it and how much the impact on those communities is the result of a real and active dialogue,” Sirefman said. “I'm looking forward to meeting people in all of those communities and elsewhere in Detroit.”

“Innovation already underway includes pilots in development such as an app that helps visually impaired people navigate complicated urban landscapes in response to community needs, programs to support electrification of commercial fleets, plus rethinking how goods move on the first and last 50 feet of their journey,” the news release said. “Michigan Central is partnering in a study to explore the feasibility of creating commercial drone testing corridors, and in a pilot project to make Michigan the first U.S. state to implement a public wireless electric vehicle charging system on a public road."

https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...af636d_1348362

[Sandhouse]

I love seeing the name Michigan Central applied to this project. Almost as much as I love seeing MC Depot revived as its centerpiece. This is a great old railroad name forgotten by all but historians. It's a logical and easily-grasped name for a powerful concept.

I do not have much faith that autonomous cars and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications will be widely implemented, but there are more than enough other applications to be researched. This will generate results that we [[or at least I) cannot imagine.

[renf]

The state of Michigan owns the former Michigan Central line from Wayne
to at least Kalamazoo. So far as I know, that line has not been officially named. It would be very appropriate to name it the Michigan Central Rail
Line.

[detmsp]

I'm not a techie guy in the least. Can you learn enough in these part-time coding courses for high school students to gain an entry level full-time position after high school or are they more for the student to find out if they have an aptitude and should pursue college studies? I thought the 6-9 month full-time programs being offered were short as well but I can see how those might offer enough to get a student in the door.

Most programming skills are learned outside the classroom. You're probably right that these boot camps don't get you 100% job ready. But if they get you interested in programming and give you some foundational knowledge, then you'll be ready to take it from there on your own.

[Rocket]

................ Can you learn enough in these part-time coding courses for high school students to gain an entry level full-time position after high school,...........

I think the answer is probably no.

I don't think you can learn it in a 2 year full-time tech school either.

I know a dozen or so I.T. people, and none of them learned what they learned in a school. They were all the type of people that messed with computers as a child, built their own PC gaming towers, wrote hacks for programs and games they were using, etc.

Some of the most successful ones didn't even graduate HS.



This aspect of MI Central probably falls more under the category of good PR.

Perhaps some entry level jobs will come out of it, but I doubt any of the high-paying stuff. Sure hope I'm wrong though.

[Honky Tonk]

I think the answer is probably no.

I don't think you can learn it in a 2 year full-time tech school either.

I know a dozen or so I.T. people, and none of them learned what they learned in a school. They were all the type of people that messed with computers as a child, built their own PC gaming towers, wrote hacks for programs and games they were using, etc.

Some of the most successful ones didn't even graduate HS.



This aspect of MI Central probably falls more under the category of good PR.

Perhaps some entry level jobs will come out of it, but I doubt any of the high-paying stuff. Sure hope I'm wrong though.

That and IT is constantly evolving. You never stop "on the job" training. Who'da thunk 30 years ago someone in Malaysia could take over your PC and fix your software problems.