U of I To Announce New Innovation Center In Chicago With U Of Chicago, Northwestern
A view of high-rises in Chicago's South Loop area. The neighborhood is to be the site of the Discovery Partners Institute, a new innovation center being launched by the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. Beyond My Ken/Wikimedia Commons/(CC BY-SA 4.0)
The University of Illinois plans a Chicago news conference Thursday afternoon to announce plans for a new public-private innovation center near downtown Chicago that would partner the Urbana-Champaign campus with two other research institutions.
The U of I-led Discovery Partners Institute is to be built in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood, with the backing of Governor Bruce Rauner, who plans to attend the news conference.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the U of I is partnering with Northwestern University and the University of Chicago to launch the project.
University of Illinois president Timothy Killeen says the center is intended to bring together faculty, students and companies to collaborate on research and turn it into new products and companies.
However, the newspaper reports that details are lacking regarding the project's funding, including how much it would receive in state money and how much has been committed in private money.