The University of Washington Bothell Campus
Cascadia Community College
The University of Washington at Bothell and Cascadia Community College share a campus at the eastern entrance to Bothell Landing. UW Bothell was founded in 1990 to bring the worldrenowned university to residents of the Puget Sound region, and to collaborate with the burgeoning lifesciences community in the area. Offering both graduate and undergraduate degrees, the student body is comprised of an international group of students. UW’s MBA program is ranked third nationally. As a leading edge university, the campus is also host to the Center for Serious Play, where students and faculty create new gaming experiences, interactive media and technology products. Not to be outdone, Cascadia Community College is the number 2 ranked community college in the nation. Cascadia offers coursework in information technology, engineering, health care and studies preparing students for careers in today’s green economy.
The campus is anticipated to grow dramatically in the next 6 years, from 3,600 students today to over 10,000 students.
Washington State Innovation Partnership Zone
Drawn to the talent and programs of the schools, a myriad of lifesciences research and technology firms cluster in the area. In 2007, the City of Bothell, UW Bothell and Cascadia Community College brought key partners from area organizations together to obtain a Washington State Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) designation. The designation defines a geographic area that promotes and develops the state’s regional economies and was awarded to the Bothell Technology Corridor, which runs along I-405, adjacent to the educational institutions and Bothell Landing. The state recognized the impact of significant ongoing medical device manufacturing and ultra sound activities in the corridor and the potential for public and private sector partners to work together to create and promote a center of excellence around this industry.
MedTech Discovery Center
In January, 2010, the City of Bothell was awarded a $500,000 state economic grant to build this center meant to promote the area’s thriving medical device industry. Temporarily located at the University of Washington, the center is a public facility for the incubation of new companies, as well as a networking and meeting space for industry leaders. The Discovery Center has a goal of creating five new companies annually.
