Blog

Sinicon Plastics has been part of the Berkshire Innovation Center since the beginning. The company was one of our founding members, and its President, David Allen, was part of the group of regional business leaders who helped turn the original idea for the BIC into a reality. Over the years, we have worked with Sinicon in a number of different ways and watched the company grow into one of Berkshire County's most impressive manufacturers. Sinicon manufactures millions of highl

Several years ago, one of our members, Justin McKennon of Electro Magnetic Applications (EMA), was asked to establish a new division here in the Berkshires. At the beginning, it was essentially a one-person operation. Over time, I had the opportunity to watch that division grow, adding talented people from across the country while maintaining remarkably little turnover. The leader who once spent much of his day solving technical problems gradually found his responsibilities c

One participant recently described the purpose of TechAMP better than any brochure or curriculum guide ever could. He said the program helped him learn to "speak both languages"—the language of the shop floor and the language of management. As the Berkshire Innovation Center prepares to celebrate the graduation of the first cohort of the Technologist Advanced Manufacturing Program (TechAMP) on July 29, that simple observation captures much of what the past year has been about

Early in our work around the Berkshire Innovation Center's Advanced Optics TechHub initiative, someone told me that the optics and photonics community was unusually collaborative. Despite the complexity of the technology and the competitiveness of the industry, people in the field were remarkably open to sharing ideas, making introductions, and helping one another succeed. At the time, I thought it was an interesting observation. I filed it away and moved on. Over the past y

A few weeks ago, my seven-year-old son Henry did something unusual. For a kid whose attention is typically focused on basketball—playing it, watching it, talking about it—he insisted that our entire family gather around the television to watch the coverage of the splashdown of NASA’s Artemis II. As we tuned in, Henry followed along intently, treating it with the same focus he would in a live game. In a house that, like most, is often pulled in different directions, everythin

This was my son Jack’s third year competing in the Berkshire Robotics Challenge. At 12 years old, he has now spent several months each year building, programming, testing, and refining a robot with his teammates, all leading up to a single day of competition. He had never made the playoff round, and this year, he very much wanted to. This year, he found himself in the role of the “veteran.” His teammates were younger and were new to the competition. He took the responsibili

Last week, Sharp Sterile Manufacturing opened its doors to a room full of local and regional community leaders. It wasn’t a ribbon cutting. It wasn’t a press event. It was a conversation. Company leaders walked us through their facility in Lee, explained the precision behind sterile fill-finish manufacturing, and — most notably — asked for input. They wanted feedback. They wanted to understand how they could better engage local suppliers, restaurants, service firms, and educa

Advanced manufacturing faces a persistent and growing workforce challenge. Engineers are trained to design systems. Technicians are trained to operate machines. But as manufacturing environments become more complex—integrating automation, robotics, digital controls, and data-driven processes—companies increasingly need professionals who can bridge the space in between. That “missing middle” is where the technologist emerges. It is also precisely the gap the Technologist Adva

Over the past several years, the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) has grown from a promising idea into a practical platform for workforce development, applied technology, and industry collaboration. We have trained incumbent workers through our Manufacturing Academy, supported the development of dynamic startups, and built durable partnerships with employers, educators, and research institutions across Massachusetts. What we are now working toward represents the next stage o

When we opened the Berkshire Innovation Center in February 2020, our mission was straightforward: give the region’s manufacturers, engineers, technologists, and educators a shared home. At the time, advanced manufacturing and technology already played an important role in our region’s economy, but we lacked a central place to bring people together, share equipment, and run high-level training programs. The building and our organization filled that gap. Five years later, that

When we talk about the Berkshire Innovation Center’s motto—”Do More Together”—we often mean collaboration between institutions, companies, and educators. The truth is, there are certain individuals that embody that spirit all on their own. One such person is Rich Peters—a former long-haul truck driver turned chief scientist, now retired but busier than ever. Today, he’s one of our most dedicated instructors, teaching in both the BIC Manufacturing Academy’s STAT Program and

On October 9, the Berkshire Innovation Center will once again welcome the community for TEDx Berkshires 2025. Key to our mission is serving as a crossroads of ideas and thought leadership—where science, creativity, and human experience come together to spark conversations that can ripple far beyond our region. TEDx Berkshires bangs that drum as loudly as any event we host. This will be our third TEDx Berkshires at the BIC, and the momentum continues to build. What began a

How does the Future Innovator's program help cultivate the next generation of innovators.

This September, the Berkshire Innovation Center will launch a new education initiative in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute...

In a university lab, a graduate student uses a mobile phone to control a robotic arm on the other side of the country. A moment later, a...

At the Berkshire Innovation Center, we launched our accelerator program with a simple idea: innovation doesn't need a zip code to...

Last month I had the pleasure of representing the Berkshires on a panel at an event in Boston hosted by the Massachusetts Competitive...

On August 13, 2014, Stephen Boyd, Founding Chair of the Berkshire Innovation Center, stood before the Pittsfield City Council presenting...

I’ve long argued that Western Massachusetts is well-positioned to become a hub for domestic clean technology manufacturing. This vision...

When we think of education, we think of students sitting at desks beginning as early as first grade. Students attend elementary school,...