Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave a $100,000 grant to Mississippi State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach to provide a new makerspace for the Starkville community.
This makerspace is being built for everyone from students, faculty, to Starkville community members.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture “provided the grant as part of their Rural Development programs,” said Eric Hill, CEO to the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach.
“They (U.S. Department of Agriculture) care about developing rural America and assisting current and future business owners,” Hill said. “The grant gives us some operational runway to get the project off the ground.”
Hill continued to describe the first space at MSU.
“Besides the grant and fundraising efforts, the E-Center has been in the middle of the maker movement on campus since day one,” Hill said.
This original space was created by Bryan Patton and is called the Factory, a student organization with over 100 students, and is supported by the E-Center financially.
The new facility will now be a space people can utilize for different projects, and the hope is to use this space to better the community, Hill said. 
Michael Lane, a student involved in creating the equipment and materials for the makerspace, said the spae will provide many things to students and the community.
“(The makerspace) will provide prototyping assistance to student and community entrepreneurs, as well as access to equipment that might not be readily available for whatever projects the community might want to work on,” Lane said.
It will enable students to have access to 3D printers, woodworking equipment and electronic prototyping tools, materials put in place to make sure people have the best opportunities provided to them as possible.
“Students can utilize the new space to work on any projects they need,” Lane said. “These can be school projects, personal projects and entrepreneurial projects. The space allows students much more freedom when working on these projects.”
Hill said this space will provide an easy-access opportunity for not just the community of MSU, but also Starkville, as the facility will allow people to use the space connecting the entrepreneurship program to downtown Starkville.
MSU President Mark Keenum said the new space will help students prosper.
“This will allow entrepreneurs to increase their chances of success,” Keenum said.
Hill said how much emphasis he puts on the importance of projects like this space.
“I think entrepreneurship is the future of Mississippi,” said Hill.
Hill said the makerspace introduces many opportunities to the community, promoting success.
“Entrepreneurship creates new and different jobs,” Hill said. “Success breeds success and encourages others around that they can do it, too.”
The College of Business Dean Sharon Oswald spoke on the importance of entrepreneurship.
“We take entrepreneurship very seriously in our college,” Oswald said.
Hill said one of the main reasons this project is hoped to be groundbreaking and important for innovators at MSU is because it is a chance to show the talent in the area.
“We want to tap the talent pool here to help bring more of these ideas to fruition,” Hill said.
This makerspace will enable people to work on an assortment of different projects to grow the community around Starkville by expanding our reach through networking.
For anyone interested in utilizing this new space for upcoming projects, whether they entail projects for school, personal projects or any other, it will be open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, as well as being accessed by specifically trained people after hours. It is located on 114 E. Main Street in Starkville, and is between Aspen Bay and Moe’s Original BBQ.