UIC Technology Innovation Lab supports entrepreneurs and startup companies

As part of the continued effort to grow the innovation ecosystem at UIC, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Innovation (OVCI) has assumed ongoing management of the business incubator formerly known as the Health, Technology, Innovation (HTI) incubator.

Located in the Illinois Medical District, HTI has served as a springboard for health-oriented startup companies based on discoveries by UIC faculty and community entrepreneurs since it was established by the U of I System Offices in 2013. The incubator facility helps entrepreneurs, grow their ideas into new ventures by providing shared laboratory space, co-working space, and access to programming and resources.

As part of the transition, the incubator has been renamed the UIC Technology Innovation Lab (TiLab). The new name builds on UIC’s success in bringing new technologies to market – evident, in part, by the successful startups, located at TiLab, that have been launched from UIC research.

“OVCI was created to unify UIC’s innovation and commercialization portfolio and build a foundation that allows faculty, staff and students to innovate,” said TJ Augustine, Vice Chancellor for Innovation at UIC. “The integration of TiLab with other areas of entrepreneurship and technology commercialization will spark new connections to transform ideas from concept to reality and maximize the impact of UIC research.”

TiLab will continue to offer services and amenities to support the university’s entrepreneurs. Membership is available to UIC faculty, students, staff, and local community members. Over the next few months, new initiatives and programs will be launched geared toward UIC’s entrepreneurial community.

“TiLab inspires and nurtures innovation, making the incubator a great fit for our robust innovation pipeline,” said UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis. “This is a great resource for the university community, not only to support startups and drive innovation, but also to help prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

OVCI recently welcomed Cynthia Faullin as Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to oversee management and operations of the TiLab incubator and develop new programming to support UIC innovators and entrepreneurs. Cynthia joins UIC from the Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she managed the EnterpriseWorks incubator. She brings with her more than 25 years of public and private sector experience.

If you would like to learn more about TiLab, please visit the newly launched website at https://techinnovationlab.uic.edu/.

As seen in UIC Today.