UIC Community

Mentorship

Incubator

Fabrication/ Research Services

Advocacy/ Promotion

Funding
Learn from experts who have taken their ideas from concept to venture.  Educational workshops, business clinics, and mentor matching provide crucial advice new and experience entrepreneurs alike. Incubators and co-working spaces provide not just office space, but an entrepreneurial community that supports founders and ventures alike. Fabrication centers and research cores offer the ability to utilize specialized equipment to create prototypes or to run specialized scientific protocols to test drug candidates. Measuring the impact of entrepreneurs on the economy and promoting the innovations that come from the University are crucial aspects of transnational research Bootstrapping, seed funding, angel investing, pitches, venture capital, grants and awards, challenges, and other events and entities can provide an entrepreneur with startup capital.

UIC Partners Heading link

The following entities have partnered with UIC to offer services to UIC student, staff and faculty entrepreneurs. Many offer free services to members of the UIC community.

1871
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1871 – Chicago’s Technology & Entrepreneurship Center – offers co-working and private space at their downtown location to entrepreneurs at any stage in their venture.  Focused mainly on technology, 1871 also offers workshops, educational seminars and networking opportunities.

Location: 222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 1212

CBC
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CBC – Chicago Biomedical Consortium The mission of the Chicago Biomedical Consortium is to promote collaboration between Chicago’s big three research universities, with the goal of accelerating discoveries. The CBC offers funding programs for translational research in the field of life sciences and educational events about entrepreneurship and technology transfer.

CIM
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CIM – Chicago Innovation Mentors – is a 6 month program for founders of science-based ventures.  Founders are paired with a mentorship team of industry experts who can advise the venture team on next steps for business development.

Location: 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, suite 1230.

iBio Institute
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The iBio Institute promotes STEM education and entrepreneurship. Their PROPEL program provides funding to startups in the form of grants and awards as well as mentorship to guide the development of formation-stage and early-stage life science companies.

Location: 171 N Aberdeen, Suite 400

ISTC
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The ISTC – Illinois Science & Technology Coalition – works to drive economic development in the state of Illinois by supporting and reporting on startups that come out of the State’s university systems.   In an effort to connect large companies with startups and entrepreneurs, ISTC offers a mentor-matching engine, which connects companies to students and classrooms to provide mentorship opportunities.

Matter
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Matter – Chicago’s Healthcare Incubator – Focused on innovative healthcare technologies, Matter is both an incubator and business accelerator.  It offers a plethora of programming including mentors-in-residence, financing clinics, speaker series, and much more.

Location: 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 1230

mHub
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mHub is a 63,000 square-foot facility that offers 10 unique fabrication centers including a 3D printing lab, electronics lab, metal shop, and more.  They provide co-working space, one-on-one office hours with manufacturing experts, and resources for product design and rapid prototyping, as well as workshops, events, classes, seminars and other programs on entrepreneurship, design, and manufacturing.

Location: 965 W Chicago Ave.