TAU co-founder of innovation center to open in Chicago

Tel Aviv University is a partner in the establishment of a research and teaching center in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation that will operate in Chicago.

Tel Aviv University is one of four founding partners in the innovative Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), which will be established and operated in Chicago. Led by the University of Illinois, together with the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, all the partners in the project are among the leading research institutions in the world, and in the coming months, additional institutions are expected to join.

The new center will focus on research and teaching in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation, and will focus on topics currently at the forefront of science and public discourse, including cyber security, artificial intelligence, data and food security. The first group of students from the Coller School of Management has already stayed at the center (which is currently operating in an existing building), and the activity is expected to expand with the construction of the new facilities.

The ambitious project was welcomed by then Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, and the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, who promised the city's support for its establishment. The Illinois House of Representatives has allocated $500 million to build the center and deploy a network of innovation hubs across the country. President of the University of Illinois System Prof. Tim Killeen announced that the first building of the center is scheduled to open in 2021. In December, a festive event will be held in Chicago, with the participation of the President of Tel Aviv University Prof. Yossi Klafter.

Training generations of successful entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship will be a major part of the center's activity, as will an emphasis on building new companies, connecting start-up companies to venture capital funds, and creating connections between new companies and veteran companies operating in the same markets.

Tel Aviv University President Prof. Yossi Klafter said that "the fact that Tel Aviv University was the first international partner of this important initiative attests to its strong position and its central place in the global arena in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation." This is an expression of the University's success in training generations of successful entrepreneurs, and for its outstanding achievements in research.

“This is another link in a series of steps that increase the visibility of Tel Aviv University in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, especially with regard to innovation and development," said Prof. Raanan Rein, Vice President of TAU.