Initiatives

The Illinois Innovation Network is a collaborative entity composed of hubs at the state’s 12 public universities, Discovery Partners Institute in Chicago, Distillery Labs in Peoria, and the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford. The IIN drives inclusive and integrated research, innovation, and economic development across Illinois

OVPEDI is proud to partner with the University of Illinois System’s Office of Procurement Diversity and Office of the President to launch the inaugural cohort of the Diverse Supplier Development Program in August 2022. This program will help diverse and women-owned businesses achieve the next level of growth through student consulting projects and workshops.

OVPEDI coordinates and supports multiple internationally focused programs, including a research seed grant program between the University of Illinois System and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Wanxiang Fellows Program, and the U of I System Mexican and Mexican-American Students (I-MMAS) initiative.

OVPEDI coordinates the University of Illinois System’s involvement in the Great Lakes Higher Education Consortium, a group focused on forging impactful, cross-border collaborations among Great Lakes higher education institutions, and between these institutions, companies and government, in order to develop partnerships and programs that seek to find solutions to the region’s grand challenges.