Indiana Launches First High School Innovation Hub on Campus

Starting this week, high school students in Perry Township are heading to college for part of their school day, and it's changing what high school can look like.

The University of Indianapolis is hosting Indiana's first career-connected learning program on a university campus. Students from Southport High School and Perry Meridian High School now split their days between traditional classrooms and real-world learning environments where they tackle actual business challenges.

Here's what makes this special: the students themselves are creating the program's identity. They're developing the name, logo, and brand from scratch, giving them ownership from day one.

Licensed teachers lead classes alongside business leaders, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals. Students work on real projects, connect with mentors, and explore careers through hands-on experience rather than textbooks alone.

The program runs out of a temporary space while construction begins on something much bigger. A $30 million permanent innovation center breaks ground this fall, funded entirely by Lilly Endowment Inc.

When it opens for the 2028-29 school year, the 52,150-square-foot building will feature makerspaces, collaborative studios, coworking spaces, and dedicated areas where students can design, prototype, test, and pitch their ideas. It's designed to mirror actual workspaces where innovation happens.

Superintendent Dr. Patrick Spray sees this as giving students room to discover what excites them and what doesn't. Both lessons matter equally when planning a future.

The Ripple Effect

This partnership could reshape how Indiana thinks about education. When high schools and universities work together, students get earlier exposure to possibilities they might never have imagined.

The model welcomes students into university life while they're still figuring out their interests. They graduate with actual professional experiences, not just classroom knowledge.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett calls it an investment in the city's future, preparing students for workforce success while building the region's innovation capacity. Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner sees it as expanding what students can imagine for themselves.

University President Tanuja Singh hopes what starts here inspires similar partnerships across Indiana and beyond.

Hundreds of Perry Township students now have a laboratory for their futures, where discovering what they love and learning marketable skills happen in the same place.