Fire Starters/Community Builders
Finalist: Taylor Geospatial Institute
The Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI) aims to be a pillar for St. Louis' geospatial industry. TGI, a consortium of eight research institutions, launched in 2022 with a focus on increasing geospatial research and scholarships locally. Its creation was founded through an investment from Andy Taylor, executive chairman of Clayton-based rental car giant Enterprise Mobility, formerly known as Enterprise Holdings, and capital from its eight members.
In May, the TGI outlined three major initiatives it is pursuing to boost the region's geospatial sector. The initiatives focus on advancing research, cutting-edge technology and food security.
What was your company’s biggest achievement in the past year? Last month, TGI launched three strategic initiatives that will contribute greatly to geospatial field building while boosting the geospatial energy and activity animating the St. Louis region. We launched an embedded research scientist program to support and coordinate cutting-edge geospatial research across several university campuses in and around STL. We launched a GeoAI Center of Excellence focused on the transformative field of artificial intelligence as applied to geospatial opportunities. And we launched a global food security challenge that focuses the power of our Midwest consortium and of geospatial science and technology on solving one of the most pressing, global problems facing humanity. Earlier this year, we launched an industry partner program that has already attracted attention and buy-in from global geospatial firms, such as Planet, Esri, and ICEYE.
What is your company’s top goal for the next year?
Our top goal for next year is to advance our three strategic initiatives and to become the nucleus of a global geospatial community. This evolution will be reflected in teams of TGI researchers winning external awards to fuel cross-disciplinary, multi-institution, collaborative research projects. TGI is also intent on growing our roster of geospatial researchers by 10 in our 8-institution-strong consortium. We also aim to grow our online followers (LinkedIn and X) by 25% and to engage numerous global experts on collaborating on the food security challenge.
Are you currently hiring? If so, for what roles?
We are hiring for multiple roles: Director of Research Development, Program Manager for our GeoAI Center of Excellence, Business Manager, Event Manager, Research Scientists.
See photos from the 2024 Fire Awards event below:
