About Us

The Southwest Innovation Research Lab (SwIRL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in College Station, Texas.

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Our nation is facing a skills gap, and we need more of our kids engaged with innovation and technology early on. There’s a mountain of social science research that shows closing the skills gap is the only way to boost productivity and raise incomes in the long term. SwIRL is designed to provide education, outreach, and community service for its local communities based on a close relationship with communities in the Bryan College Station area. SwIRL was founded in 2021 with a vision of expanding opportunity to the next generation.

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We currently have short-term office space that we’ve outfitted as a lab in College Station. Today, several student clubs use this space, such as Aggie Robotics, RoboMasters, and the Texas A&M Bitcoin Club. In exchange, they perform service activities for the local community. These activities include summer camps, boot camps, and weekend activities to introduce local school children to the activities of the clubs. Right now, this means robotics and Bitcoin, but over time, we aim to integrate student clubs with our local community.

One day, a little girl will walk into our lab, find technology that she has never seen before, and dream that she can one day build her future. That is what we are fighting for.