Established 1999 Companies 100+ Student Interns 500+ Phone +1 217-333-8324 | Area 663,000 sq-ft Structures 14 Website Official Site Number of employees 1,500 | |
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Address Institute of Aviation at Parkland College, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 60 Hazelwood Dr, Champaign, IL 61820, USA Similar University of Illinois at Urbana‑C, I Hotel and Conferen Center, University of Illinois Campus, College of Business, Henson Court at the State Far | ||
Research Park, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, or simply referred to as "Research Park", is a research park located in the southwest part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus in Champaign, Illinois, United States. The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a technology hub for startup companies and corporate research and development operations. Within the Research Park there are more than 100 companies employing students and full-time technology professionals.
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Research Park
Located on campus, the Research Park is now home to more than 100 companies, employing more than 1,700 people. At any given time more than 600 student interns are working in these companies gaining valuable work experience while making real contributions to internal corporate R&D and product development programs. Multinational and/or publicly traded corporations in the Research Park include: ADM, Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, AB InBev, Ameren, Capital One, Caterpillar, CEB, Deere & Company, Dow AgroSciences, Dow Chemical, Grainger, Littelfuse, Raytheon, Riverbed, State Farm, and Yahoo. The Research Park is also home to over 50 startup companies that are commercializing technology. EnterpriseWorks, the Research Park’s 43,000-square-foot business incubator for early-stage tech firms, is operated by the University of Illinois to help launch successful startup companies.
EnterpriseWorks Incubator
The EnterpriseWorks Incubator provides a bridge between the research of the University and the commercialization of technology by university faculty, researchers, and students. The award-winning incubator provides free counseling services to technology entrepreneurs and facilities such as laboratories, offices, conference rooms, kitchen, and co-working space. The Entrepreneur-In-Residence program is a free service provided by Research Park which consists of 7 experience tech entrepreneurs who provide monthly consulting to new startup ventures and prospective entrepreneurs. Research Park and the EnterpriseWorks Incubator hold educational, training, social, and networking events to facilitate a community feel while providing a place where the newest startups have the opportunity to develop relationships with established national and international corporations.
Awards
History
Research Park gained the approval of the Board of Trustees in November 1999 and established its governance with the University of Illinois Research Park Limited Liability Company in March 2000. The Research Park opened its first building in 2001 and grew quickly into a 200-acre technology hub for corporate research and development operations. Research Park is located on the south side of the University campus which provides several advantages such as easy access to University facilities, close proximity to university faculty, and flexibility to use university students for internships. In 2003, the State of Illinois provided funding to build the EnterpriseWorks Incubator, a 43,000 square-foot business technology incubator for early-stage tech firms, and the first tenants moved in during early 2004. In May 2000, the University entered into a partnership with Fox/Atkins who now leases the land from the University and constructs customized buildings for Research Park's tenants. The company is responsible for transforming the land from fish ponds, agricultural fields, and livestock barns to a thriving, supportive environment for modern tech entrepreneurs. The next phase of development in the new master developer agreement is to add 160 acres of additional land east of the main Research Park area. This expansion represents the continuing success of advancing the economic development in the state and region at large. The total operation in Research Park annually contributes $4.1 million in tax revenues to the state of Illinois. The total construction over 10 years contributed $7.2 million in state tax revenue. The Research Park is the most visible shift in economic development and innovation in the history of the University of Illinois. Ed McMillan, chairman of the Board of Managers for the Research Park and a University of Illinois trustee, stated that, "The mission of the Research Park is much in collaboration with the mission of the University of Illinois. In addition to teaching - in addition to research and outreach - it's also commercialization of technology."
Events
Networking events include happy hours, golf outings, bonfires and an annual holiday party. The Research Park also facilitates recurring events that target certain groups related to technology business.