UNL’s Innovation Campus helps university stack up to Big Ten peers

This past semester, the Nebraska Innovation Campus has seen progress, but the most impressive development may be that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has a research park at all.

Innovation Campus is closer to becoming a reality. An agreement with an infrastructure contractor was signed Feb. 24, and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the sale of the 4-H Building to the Nebraska Innovation Campus Development Corporation at its March 11 meeting.

The project is still largely in the works, but upon its completion, UNL will join several other Big Ten schools that have their own research parks.

The university hopes to develop Innovation Campus and see the growth other universities have seen. Six Big Ten schools cite economic growth and the creation of jobs for both the university and local community as part of the success of their research parks.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Economic development is one of the missions at the University of Illinois, which is why the university created its research park.

A third of the people working at the park are students, said Laura Frerichs, associate director of Research Park and Incubator Facility at the University of Illinois.

The park has been particularly adept at forming relationships with the technology community, she said.

Establishment date: The first building was built in 2001.

Size: 100 square acres on the campus, 11 buildings and an incubator

Number of Tenants: 74 tenants

Number of Employees: 1,394 employees

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

Having a research park has made the University of Iowa more entrepreneurial, said Diane Gallagher, interim director of the University of Iowa Research Park.

"It has also allowed for a number of internships and research collaboration with people in the university," she said.

The research park is in Coralville, about 11 miles from the campus.

"We don't see it as a problem because of the interstate," Gallagher said. "You can be here in 10 minutes or less."

The University of Iowa's research focuses on human health and medicine, she said.

Establishment date: 1989

Size: Two incubators of about 500 acres

Number of Tenants: 28 companies or businesses, with 9 park companies and 19 incubator companies

Number of Employees: More than 900 employees

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced its proposed plan for Nebraska Innovation Campus in 2007 and has continued to focus on its goal of making the campus a reality.