The Research Park at the University of Illinois provides an environment where technology-based businesses can work with faculty and students to take advantage of opportunities for collaborative research and easy access to university labs, equipment, and services.
Corporations have sought out the Research Park to address recruitment needs for high-quality technical talent. More than 800 students work year-round in the Research Park, typically 10-20 hours a week during the school year and full-time in the summer. Companies also collaborate with U. of I. faculty members in research areas of mutual interest.
The corporate innovation centers in the Research Park include: AARP, Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, ADM, AGCO, Ameren, Bayer, BP, Brunswick, Capital One, Caterpillar Inc., CME Group, Corteva Agrisciences, Graybar, Deere & Co., NVIDIA, State Farm, Synchrony, and Verizon Communications Inc. (Yahoo).
The Research Park also is home to the EnterpriseWorks technology incubator, which provides programming, entrepreneurial education, labs and offices for early stage scientific startup companies, many of them commercializing U. of I. research. Since opening in 2003, EnterpriseWorks companies have raised more than a billion dollars in venture capital and angel investment.
Learn more about the Research Park.