Discovery Partners Institute Moves Forward with $500M

On February 12 Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the release of $500M in state capital funds to support University of Illinois projects including the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI).

The Discovery Partners Institute entices people to jumpstart their tech careers or companies in Chicago. Led by the University of Illinois System in partnership with local and global research universities, it does two things: Workforce development and applied R&D.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” University of Illinois President, Tim Killeen said. “This is what big land grant colleges (such as U of I) were created to do. It’s the expansion of our mission into today’s economy.”

The DPI establishes a tech hub in the Midwest with the potential to emulate Boston’s Kendall Square with the opportunity to create 48,000 “new economy” jobs over the next decade, 27,000 support jobs and help 23,000 people get better jobs, according to a report prepared by Boston Consulting Group.

To learn more about the DPI, click here.