SAN DIEGO—San Diego State University recently broke ground on a new engineering and interdisciplinary sciences complex, a future hotspot for collaborative collisions between engineers and biologists, mathematicians and entrepreneurs and a key piece in SDSU's drive to become a top-50 public research university. Dr. Stephen Welter, VP for research and dean of graduate affairs at SDSU, tells GlobeSt.com the innovation complex represents the blending of students, staff and faculty in a market that's becoming increasingly better known for its innovation economy. We spoke exclusively with Welter about the complex and how it fits in with higher education's changing role in the economy.

GlobeSt.com: What is most interesting, in your opinion, about the innovation complex?

Welter: The most interesting part for me is that it has very much a blended identity. There's no administrative identity, no department or college at the university that has ownership of the building. It has been designed thematically by topics or areas of research and will bring faculty together in an unusual way. Every cluster has to have faculty from engineering and sciences in that cluster. Not only have we picked the thematic approach, but we've taken faculty from across multiple units and brought them together. You can't solve new problems with old approaches, but the accidental collisions that occur when people sit around and talk will generate new solutions.  Also, we've embedded an entrepreneurial core in a key location in the building for faculty, students and staff. Because it's a science and engineering hub for innovation, the physical proximity is necessary for driving interactions—that's an important part.

GlobeSt.com: What does this development say about San Diego's current and future economy?

Welter: San Diego has always had a reputation for being an innovative economy and one based on information rather than just being labor driven. A lot of biotech, wireless, clean-energy companies are aggregated in the San Diego region, and a lot of small start-ups are helping move enterprises forward near SDSU. It's an expression of where San Diego is trying to go.

GlobeSt.com: What is higher education's role in this economy, and how is it changing?

Welter: I think people are looking for impact from a lot of the scholarship being done now. Academics recognize that public-private partnerships are not only needed in terms of providing additional resources, but also from an intellectual perspective. The industry, from application and fundamental ideas, will see partnerships between universities and the private sector. There is experiential learning going on. Both courses and programs are explicitly built with partnerships in them. We're seeing a lot more blended models where entrepreneurial experiences combine with the curriculum so students can work on real-world problems and situations.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this development?

Welter: It's an expression of what SDSU is trying to do. In particular, it is pushing very hard to be a top research institution, but also to be an impactful university and an agent of change for the community. It's also an expression of how public-private partnerships are more universally accepted. We're even seeing this at the federal level: the National Science Foundation grant applicants are asked to explain the impact of that grant on society. It used to be just fundamental research, but now they're asking where you might take this—what healthcare, social or economic issue might it impact? The Zahn Innovation Center at SDSU is spinning out a lot of innovative companies.