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HOUGHTON -- Jackson National Life Insurance Company has opened a new satellite office in the Lakeshore Center in Houghton with the help of SmartZone.

The office will be opening up new jobs to Michigan Tech students in the IT fields. Jackson hopes to create at least 30 new jobs for Tech graduates by the end of the year.

The office has 24 high-tech work stations for students to work on Java-based projects and mobile development among other things. Jackson officials say the company hopes the new office will benefit the whole community.

“My goal is just to be a productive part of the community to support Houghton and Hancock by providing good jobs,” said Jackson's director of systems and programming, Robert Sweet. “The budget I have all gets spent here, so that's money that goes into the community.”

Jackson is one of the nation's largest annuity providers with nearly $130 billion in assets. SmartZone is a company that provides resources to businesses to help them grow and expand the regional economy.