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UIDP Academy

U-I Engagement Outside Major Metropolitan Areas Workshop Materials

UIDP Workshops are designed to:

  • Share knowledge through presentations, panel discussions and workshops
  • Advance UIDP’s Project activities at dedicated project working group sessions
  • Provide networking opportunities
  • Showcase high-value U-I collaboration in real-world settings through presentations, tours and host and sponsor site visits

Need a recap? Access all available presentations and workshop materials from U-I Engagement Outside Major Metropolitan Areas here. These presentations were not prepared by UIDP and do not necessarily reflect UIDP policies or positions. Check back soon, more presentations will be posted as they become available.

See the workshop report and the toolkit, U-I Engagement Outside Major Metropolitan Areas and Megacities: Identifying Issues and Finding Solutions

Tuesday, May 21 

UIDP Academy Workshop: Using Research Data to Enhance Collaborations

Strategic data sets contained in robust research information management systems can help university leadership proactively administer a diverse and increasingly complex university research enterprise. Additionally, they can be used as key tools for developing research strategies by identifying institutional research strengths to make investments and foster external collaborations.

During this workshop, case studies are presented that provide specific examples of how objective data can be used to develop strategies. Elsevier has been investing in the development of systems that can help bring efficiency at an enterprise scale. This interactive workshop provides learnings from across the country and the world; allows for brainstorming on practical steps and expectations; shares examples and learnings from prior experiences.

U-I Engagement Outside Major Metropolitan Areas Workshop

There are many factors involved in developing successful collaborations among university and industry partners, whether the collaboration focus is around research and development, talent acquisition, workforce development, economic or community development, and/or other targets. While the factors involved in developing successful collaboration can be unique to partners outside of major metropolitan areas, many of the same fundamentals apply as in all relationships where the goal must be to create mutual value exchange. But, this approach must be tailored to the individualities of the partnering entities and the purpose for partnering without a one-size-fits-all approach. This case study profiles the evolution of the relationship between John Deere and Iowa State and the development steps that were critical to developing a successful partnership with mutual value exchange.

Setting the stage for our future efforts. Ideas and strategies to implement as we strive to bring venture capital beyond major metropolitan areas.

Wednesday, May 22

U-I Engagement Outside Major Metropolitan Areas Workshop

The UIDP recently launched a project exploring strategies for getting the most of planned visits to university or industry sites. This session provides an overview of key findings from the UIDP’s work.

Panelists will provide insight on how the construction and facility design process can help create industry and university partnerships. Takeaways include tips to fostering private industry collaboration, incorporating R&D and educational training in the design process, and sourcing the best options when financing facility development. Panelists provide best practices from recent project work and case studies.

Access to students is regularly rated as the top reasons to seek to partner with universities.  This session provides information on some approaches being used by universities to increase engagement through customized student engagement programs.

Promoting the value of higher education and research at public land grants and public universities in general is critical. Adding value to rural areas should be a special focus of our public institutions. Join us for a discussion of ideas.

Universities face significant opportunities and challenges in how they internally structure themselves and invest their limited resources to maximize external engagement and advance their missions. This session considers contemporary approaches being implemented and tested at universities.

Academic medical centers outside of major metro areas are able to participate in clinical trials and support the overall health of the people in these communities.  Relationships developed from successful clinical trials can bolster other types of collaborations and this session considers ways to leverage clinical trial work into meaningful relationships.

This session includes a discussion on maximizing impact in the face of resource scarcity. Representatives from universities who operate in legacy cities and more remote locations discuss their practices and strategies and facilitate an open discussion with session participants on their respective experiences as well as best (and worst) practices. In particular strategies for leveraging State economic development programs as well as other partnerships with off-campus and on-campus stakeholders will be discussed.

Following the conclusion of the workshop, we hold a session to develop a toolkit to maximize U-I engagement outside of major metropolitan areas. This breakout is an open forum to discuss current challenges to opportunities for collaborations in preparation of the post-workshop event.

The Rise of the Rest

The world’s first research park was launched in the early 1950s in a then-rural part of California at Stanford University. Since that time, research parks and more recently accelerators and innovation districts have thrived around the globe, often in major metropolitan cities, from Boston to Beijing. But research parks and innovation districts in non-metropolitan areas have also grown as talent and technology aggregators for these communities, particularly around anchor higher education institutions. Public land grant universities, with their ties to smaller communities in states, have played an important role. This panel discusses the evolution of research parks, accelerators and innovation districts, and presents the case study of the University of Illinois Research Park Urbana Champaign as a national model of economic engagement in a non-major metropolitan setting.

As key players in regional economic development, universities are seen as a leading component to the innovation ecosystem. Companies also want a healthy and robust community to help support their workforce and commercialization efforts. Local governments and the economic development groups are increasingly recognizing the value of university-industry collaborations in supporting their communities and developing dedicated programs to bolster these partnerships.

Thursday, May 23

U-I Engagement Outside Major Metropolitan Areas Workshop

The Strategic Role of the Federal Government in Supporting the University Innovation Ecosystem

Many government agencies have dedicated programs to support innovation ecosystems; universities are the key player in many communities and this moderated panel considers what specific initiatives are currently being offered and what features make for impactful programs.