Illinois a partner in $3.5M I-Corps node

ChicagoInno (Nov. 2) -- Four Midwest universities are getting a grant from the National Science Foundation to transform university tech into startups. The NSF announced a $3.5 million grant to establish a Midwest node for their I-Corps program, which offers funding and programming to help researchers explore customer discovery and commercial potential of their tech. The node will be managed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Purdue University, and the University of Toledo. “In developing this collaboration, we will leverage each other’s strengths,” said Jed Taylor, director of operations for UIUC's Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) in a statement. The goal is to grow an entrepreneurship ecosystem among the top engineering schools. Also: News-Gazette (Nov. 3), ASEE FirstBell (Nov. 7).