Reasons for joining the program:
I lead the Illinois initiative to stand up 15 specialized innovation centers to address the local economic needs, from urban to peri-urban to rural communities, and inclusive of hard science and social science technologies and systems that address the needs of industry while providing pathways for economic security for every community. This initiative includes a collaboration of the 12 public four-year universities and three additional hubs as a new model of inclusiveness focused on community equity. Hub focus areas align with following themes: • Computing and data; • Food and agriculture; • Environment and water; and • Health and wellness. • Key Industry Clusters of focus include: • Agribusiness & AgTech; • Clean Tech; • Energy; • Information Technology; • Life Sciences & Healthcare; • Manufacturing; and • Transportation & Logistics. I am interested in learning about international initiatives and developing partnerships with similarly sized communities. The initiative includes local, regional, state, and international partnerships that would be of mutual benefit to expand trade and investment across the Americas. 

Offer:
The University of Illinois System is the state’s largest and most comprehensive public university with universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield. The U of I System’s three institutions offer over 500 academic programs to more than 80,000 students. The University of Illinois Chicago campus supported ACE 3. I propose extending the support of the statewide network to ACE participants, including technical assistance, expertise, regional networks, research collaboration opportunities, and invitations to participate with our incubators, accelerators and business centers on an individual basis. We believe our diverse small to large and rural to urban experiences would enhance knowledge exchanges.