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Champaign-Urbana Named One of Top Cities for Job-Seeking College Grads

Champaign-Urbana earned the #4 spot in the smallest metros (population below 250,000) on American Institute for Economic Research’s (AIER) ranking of the top cities in America for young college graduates.

The nine-factor formula centered on demographics, economics and quality of life. Additional factors in the Employment Destinations Index included bars and restaurants, entertainment and arts venues, and the use of public transit, as well as rents, and earning power.

Read the full report: https://www.aier.org/blog/top-cities-and-towns-job-seeking-college-grads

New Illinois Innovation Index highlights growth of university-driven startups in Illinois

The Illinois Science and Technology Coalition released new data conveying the growth of entrepreneurial activity across the state’s universities as part of its Illinois Innovation Index, a publication that reports on key metrics of the state’s innovation economy.

A big takeaway? The report found that over the past five academic years, students and faculty at Illinois universities have created 611 startups through university technology licensing, entrepreneurship programs and competitions, and other university-financed initiatives.

We know this to be true as we have a great tech ecosystem in Champaign-Urbana & see many startups from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, several of which are located at the University of Illinois Research Park and throughout the community.

Agrible, a Champaign-Urbana startup, was located on page 12 of the report.

From the press release:

New Illinois Innovation Index highlights growth of university-driven startups in Illinois

Index reports highest level of startups launched over the last 5 years with 73% staying in the state

March 8, 2016 – (CHICAGO, IL) – The Illinois Science and Technology Coalition (ISTC) today released new data conveying the growth of entrepreneurial activity across the state’s universities as part of its Illinois Innovation Index, a publication that reports on key metrics of the state’s innovation economy. The announcement was made at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s University Technology Park with university leaders and leading university-driven entrepreneurs.

Based on data self-reported by the state’s universities, the report found that over the past five academic years, students and faculty at Illinois universities have created 611 startups through university technology licensing, entrepreneurship programs and competitions, and other university-financed initiatives. Roughly 80 percent of these companies remain active (or were acquired), and 73 percent of active startups were based in Illinois at the time of the survey—up from 68 percent reported in last year’s survey.

“Illinois’ universities are engines of economic growth. The significant uptick in the level of entrepreneurial activity occurring on campuses across the state is a testament to the investment our universities have been making to build programs, initiatives, and incubation spaces that cultivate entrepreneurial talent and support technology companies that are growing here in Illinois,” said ISTC president and CEO Mark Harris.

University of Illinois President Tim Killeen, who also serves as chairman of the ISTC Board of Directors, said the findings reinforce the critical role that universities play in moving Illinois forward.

“Our universities are the key to success in a knowledge-based, 21st century economy –
incubators of the breakthrough innovation that creates the new businesses and jobs of tomorrow,” Killeen said. “Illinois is home to some of the world’s most accomplished research universities, and they share a commitment to pioneering scholarship that leads the way to a new era of progress and prosperity.”

The Index also reports that university startups created since 2010–11 have raise at least $345 million, including $311 million in follow-on private funding with the remaining $34 million coming from crowd funding, university grants, competition awards, and the government in the form of SBIR/STTR grants. While companies often relocate to move closer to investors, Illinois retained roughly 62 percent of these companies that received venture capital funding.

“The recent growth in entrepreneurial start-ups, including those created by Illinois Tech students comes from both the strong interest of our students and the innovative culture and support system we now have in place” said Alan Cramb, president of Illinois Institute of Technology. “Our University Technology Park also affords opportunities for students to work directly for start-ups, such as Chris Gladwin’s Cleversafe.”

“The growth in university entrepreneurship is no surprise because we’ve placed an increasing focus on reducing the barriers to entry for passionate entrepreneurs commercializing research already happening across the University of Chicago, Argonne and Fermilab,” said John Flavin, executive director of the Chicago Innovation Exchange and ISTC board member. “By providing space, capital, and access to talent, programming and connections to industry partners, we are increasing translation of early stage ideas into commercially validated products and ventures leading to job creation and retention in Illinois.”

Activity in all four tech transfer categories—disclosures, patents, licenses, and startups—has increased over the past five years both in Illinois and at the national level as well. Illinois universities recorded especially robust growth in total number of patents – fifth nationally – and tech transfer startups continue to be led by biomedical technologies, with software and clean tech companies rounding out the top three.

“Universities provide the fuel to propel the economy forward and will be instrumental in order to advance Chicago as a top tier technology hub,” said Chris Gladwin, ISTC board member and founder of Cleversafe, which sold to IBM last year for more than $1.3 billion. “Cleversafe’s success was a result of the early partnership forged with Illinois Tech and the momentum building across many of our universities around entrepreneurship is a promising sign of even more to come.”

“SiNode Systems is a model of how university-driven clean tech innovations can successfully transition technology from the laboratory to the marketplace,” said Samir Mayekar, cofounder and CEO of SiNode Systems, which he started as a Northwestern University MBA student in 2011. “With the support of the Illinois technology ecosystem, we are on a trajectory to not only stimulate local economic growth, but also impact the environment and global economy over the next decade, as we drive the performance of electric vehicles, renewables and grid-scale energy storage to the next level.”

Press:

Midwest is super-home to tech/science start-ups, WCIA 3 News
Tech Talent Grows Here: 73 Percent of Startups Born at Illinois Universities Stay In-State, ChicagoInno
Illinois Innovation Index: More university startups staying in state, Chicago Tribune
Here’s what 611 Illinois startups have in common, Crain’s Chicago Business

 

Parkland Videos Highlight Manufacturing Companies in Champaign County

As part of our effort to highlight products and innovation Made in Champaign County (#MadeInCC), we were happy to connect Parkland College with some of our local manufacturers so they could create videos to highlight the companies, their products, work environment, job opportunities, and more.

EpiWorks, Inc.

Frasca International, Inc.

BRG Sports

HL Precision Manufacturing, Inc.

Advanced Filtration Systems, Inc.

 

Patterson Wins Cozad Entrepreneur Award

Congratulations to Lori Gold Patterson, CEO of Pixo and EDC Board member! Lori will receive the V. Dale Cozad Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Parkland College on June 8th at the iHotel and Conference Center. Read more about the award here.

Pixo was recently honored at Innovation Celebration 2016 as a finalist for the Innovation: Longevity Award.

About Pixo: Pixo is a woman-owned development house that has been a part of the Champaign-Urbana technical community for seventeen years. They comprise a team of thirty-two cross-disciplinary creative problem-solvers who thrive in a culture of vulnerability, humans over profit, and risk-taking. Pixo engages in development for companies of all sizes—from enterprises to start-ups. When a client has a vision for a product or service, Pixo has the team to design and build it. Learn more at http://www.pixotech.com/.

Robert Scoble (Scobleizer) Visits Champaign-Urbana

As part of the You’re Welcome CU campaign, we were thrilled to host Robert Scoble “Scobleizer” in Champaign-Urbana.

Robert Scoble is a tech influencer and vlogger. He travels the world looking for what’s happening on the bleedng edge of technology. He’s interviewed thousands of executives and technology innovators and reports what he learns in books, on YouTube, and many social media sites where he’s followed by millions of people.IMG_7030

He’s been named by Inc. as a “Top 5 Tech Power Player You Need to Know” (http://www.inc.com/john-rampton/30-power-players-in-tech-you-need-to-know.html) & he’s one of the top personalities most followed by the NYSE-listed companies on Twitter (above Oprah!, see full list: http://www.burson-marsteller.com/bm-blog/twitter-accounts-most-followed-by-the-nyse-listed-companies/).

Videos from his visit to Champaign-Urbana:

Engineering at Illinois: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/vb.501319654/10153852561554655/?type=2

National Center for Supercomputing Applications – NCSA: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852335334655/

Pixo: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852718869655/

Volition: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153850811974655/

University of Illinois Research Park, Part 1: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852061749655/

University of Illinois Research Park, Part 2: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852130939655/

Yahoo: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852183979655/

Wolfram: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852393374655/

– VR Lab (Steve LaValle): https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852625789655/

Frasca International, Inc.: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852795609655/

John Deere: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852305869655/

Agrible: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10153852241604655/

His recap of Champaign-Urbana – Here’s how small-town America is primed to beat Silicon Valley in innovation: https://medium.com/@scobleizer/here-s-how-small-town-america-is-primed-to-beat-silicon-valley-in-innovation-3923049865ed#.ktug4ag8z

Photos from Scobleizer’s visit: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1028521297224132.1073741829.767321023344162&type=1&l=8ab12e9252

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