IIT to Build Innovation Center on South Side Campus

Facility will overlook the Dan Ryan Expressway

The Illinois Institute of Technology is planning a building to house programs focused on fostering innovation, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Thursday.

"It will help unlock the potential of thousands of students while providing Chicago businesses with a pipeline of new products, processes, and talented graduates to hire," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a release.

The 5-story, 100,000-square-foot facility, set to overlook the Dan Ryan Expressway will house IIT's Idea Shop, Leadership Academy, Entrepreneurship Academy, and Institute of Design, the university said.

The center is also set to be home to the school's Interprofessional Projects Program (IPRO), an educational approach designed to promote collaborative projects by interdisciplinary teams.

Also included in plans for the new building are a space for companies at University Technology Park and around Chicago to access the talents of IIT students as well as an increase in the number of Chicago Public School students able to participate in the school's Exelon Summer Institute to more than 200.

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