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IDAHO FALLS — Two years after breaking ground on the College of Eastern Idaho’s new technology building, the expansive building is now open and ready to accept hundreds of students.
The Battelle Energy Alliance Future Tech Building in Partnership with Frontier Credit Union is the culmination of efforts by the college, local business partners and employers to create a new space that will focus more on hands-on training and help students find high-demand careers.
The project cost approximately $52 million and includes 12 labs and 10 classrooms that will serve eight programs.
On Thursday afternoon, officials with CEI, state officials, members of Idaho National Laboratory, and other partners held a ribbon-cutting for the new Future Tech Building. Coverage of that ribbon-cutting can be found at the link below.
After the ribbon-cutting, EastIdahoNews.com spoke with CEI President Lori Barber, who said the new Future Tech Building will expand the college’s capacity by another 1,000 students. Along with growth at the college, Barber said that the student population has grown from 1,000 to 5,000 since 2017.
One of the labs in the Future Tech Building will be dedicated to precision agriculture, a new program CEI plans to launch in the fall of 2027.
Barber said this program is the future of agriculture, and plans are in place to develop a curriculum to help students get ahead of the game rather than play catch-up.
“We are at the forefront of that, and so that program is definitely going to be at the forefront of agriculture and where it’s going in the future,” Barber said.
Here is a look at what future students will see as classes begin on Aug. 17.
A panorama of the second floor view facing east towards Hitt Road from the new future Tech Building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comOscilloscopes and other power measurement devices inside of the Electrical Controls Technology Build Lab. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comA view of the common space towards the west inside of the new Future Tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comStarted in 2024, a Mechatronics lab will offer students tha chance to learn about mechatronics and other mechanical principals. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comAgritech lab that will be used for potential future classes in Agriculture Technology courses. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comThe Frontier Credit Union Conference Center located on the second floor of the new Future Tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comThe Battelle Energy Alliance Applied Stem Institution that will host future high school students at the new Future Tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comA look inside the classroom of the Battelle Energy Alliance Applied Stem Institution that will host future high school students at the new Future Tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comOne of the many learning bridges on the second floor of the Future Tech building that allow for students to collaborate together. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comSurgical Technologies Classroom at the new Future Tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comOne of the surgical bays that is part of the Surgical Technologies lab at the new Future Tech Building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comThe Generator, a cafe in the new Future Tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comA panorama of the inside of the engineering room at the new Future Tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comA seminar room that can be split into two seperate classrooms at the new future tech building. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comA wall of the supporters who made the new Battelle Energy Alliance Future Tech Building in Partnership with Frontier Credit Union possible. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comInside of the Agritech Lab, students will be able to build machines and technology that can be used in the agriculture. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comView of some of the common spaces inside of the Battelle Energy Alliance Future Tech Building in Partnership with Frontier Credit Union. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.comStudents will have a multitude of opportunities inside of the Cybersecurity Lab to build computers and learn about coding. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.com
