| Discovery Partners Institute | |
| Abbreviation: | DPI |
| Established: | --> |
| Founders: | Tim Killeen and Ed Seidel |
| Purpose: | Workforce development and applied research |
| Headquarters: | 200 S. Wacker Drive |
| Location: | Chicago |
| Region Served: | --> |
| Leader Title: | Executive Director |
| Leader Name: | Bill Jackson,Jan 2020 -- Feb 2024 |
| Leader Title2: | Interim Executive Director |
| Leader Name2: | Deba Dutta,Feb 2024 -- |
| Parent Organization: | University of Illinois System |
| Website: | dpi.uillinois.edu |
The Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), part of the University of Illinois System, conducts tech workforce development, applied research and business building in Chicago. It is one of 15 Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) hubs, each of which is associated with one or more of the 12 four-year public universities in Illinois. DPI currently operates in office space at 200 South Wacker Drive, with plans to build a dedicated building within The 78, a neighborhood under development in Chicago's South Loop. DPI's goal is to attract world class tech talent to Chicago for tech careers and to facilitate corporate investment in Illinois, primarily through training and education and through applied R&D and business building.
Planning for and development of DPI started in 2016 under the leadership of University of Illinois President Tim Killeen and Ed Seidel, UI's vice president for economic development and innovation, with a goal to build an institution where students and faculty from Illinois campuses and other individuals can interact with academic and business partners, take classes, do research, intern with private companies, learn entrepreneurship and work with community agencies. In October 2017, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and the University of Illinois System unveiled plans for DPI and the IIN as drivers for innovation and growth in the knowledge-based economy of Illinois.
In June 2018, the Illinois Legislature approved $500 million for DPI and other IIN hubs within the state, and in August 2018 William Sanders was named as interim director of the DPI. That same month, Illinois Innovation Network hubs were established at the three campuses within the University of Illinois System (in Springfield, Champaign-Urbana and Chicago). In October 2018 a hub was established at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. These have been joined by hubs at each of the other eight public universities in Illinois, and by the Illinois Rural Hub in Rockford and the Peoria Innovation Hub in December 2018.
In September 2019, Bill Sanders announced his intention to become the dean of the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.[1] The search for a successor led to the hiring of Bill Jackson, a former executive at Johnson Controls as the inaugural executive director. DPI flourished under Jackson achieving many successes including the establishment of Shield T3 which delivered groundbreaking SHIELD saliva testing for COVID-19 nationwide and globally. After leading DPI successfully for four years, Bill Jackson announced his departure effective February 16, 2024. University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen thanked Jackson for his dedicated leadership and appointed Deba Dutta as interim executive director of DPI.
In September 2022, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker unveiled the design for DPI's new headquarters in The 78, a new innovation district along the South Branch of the Chicago River. The eight-story building – a layered dome of glass and steel – will provide more than 200,000 square feet of office, classroom, laboratory and event space for DPI and its university and industry partners.[2]
Designed by architecture firms OMA and Jacobs, the building is designed to create strong connections to surrounding communities, the adjacent riverfront, and the future phases of the larger Innovation District at The 78. The building's main entry will be located at 15th Street and Wells-Wentworth, and a Richard Hunt sculpture will anchor the site's landscape. The project is expected to break ground in 2024, and will be the first building to begin construction in The 78.[3]
DPI runs several programs to help strengthen and diversify Chicago's tech talent pool. In December 2020, the Pritzker Foundation announced it is giving $10 million over five years to DPI to support and develop promising and more diverse tech talent in Illinois. The funding established DPI's Pritzker Tech Talent Labs (PTTL).[4] Today, PTTL operates a number of programs. They include:
DPI conducts research in several arenas, including education and public health. Major undertakings include:
DPI's academic partners include four Chicago metropolitan area institutions which are not state universities (University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Illinois Institute of Technology and Argonne National Laboratory) and five international partners: Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Cardiff University and National Taiwan University.
DPI's corporate partners in its workforce development efforts include Apple, Google, Cognizant, and CVS Health.
Release of the state of Illinois funding for the DPI and the other IIN capital projects was delayed until, on February 12, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced $500 million for capital projects around the state of Illinois, with $235 million to go toward building the DPI facility in Chicago and $265 million to be used for capital projects at the other 14 Illinois Innovation Network hubs. On the same day the University of Illinois announced agreement with real estate developer Related Midwest for construction of the DPI research and innovation center within The 78, on one acre of land donated by Related Midwest. The release of these capital funds was a major step toward expanding the DPI toward its full potential. Additionally, as Crain's Chicago Business reported: "In an era of companies moving entire headquarters to gain an edge in recruiting top tech talent" knowledge that the University of Illinois will build this facility in Chicago can be a selling point for Related Midwest to attract corporations to The 78.