2021 Annual Report

SOME Impactful INITIATIVES

Optimizing Health Through Personalized Nutrition The Personalized Nutrition program strives to optimize human health and quality of life by tailoring recommendations according to an individual’s specific genetics, microbiome, and metabolism, as well as diet history and phenotype. For the launch of the initiative, OCR provided guidance on strategic relationship management, and contracting best practices. This year, the participating companies are Archer Daniels Midland Co, General Mills, Givaudan, National Dairy Council, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Pharmavite. AgTech Innovation Summit 2021: A Success! AgTech Summit is an interactive conference that offers participants the opportunity to learn from dynamic panels, inspiring keynote presentations, and networking opportunities about the state of Agtech and opportunities for the future. Champaign-Urbana, one of the premier AgTech hubs in the country, provides an excellent platform for businesses, investors, academics, and industry to learn, network, and advance this field. The OCR partnered with Research Park to co-host the AgTech Summit and invited several company executives to attend the summit in person. Magelli Office of Experiential Learning Sponsors Projects The Magelli Office of Experiential Learning provides opportunities for Gies Business students to gain hands-on experience working on real-world projects for real clients. Not only are the experiences valuable for every Gies student, but our clients also see real, tangible benefits for their businesses. Our students work for more than 200 companies each year including Fortune 100 companies, mid- sized businesses, and startups. The OCR partnered with the Magelli Office of Experiential Learning to connect companies in need of project sponsorship. Thank you for your outstanding work. Your final presentation included recommendations that will allow Microsoft to continue assisting higher education institutions across the world respond to COVID-19. Great job, team! -Neil Misak, Microsoft

McKechnie Family LIFE Home Ready to Partner with Companies The McKechnie Family LIFE (Living in Interactive Future Environments) Home is a cutting-edge research center focused on the newest innovations in home environments. With user-centered research focused on the home environment, the LIFE Home works to advance accessible solutions to a broad range of individuals and families in both existing home designs and future home concepts. The LIFE Home presents a unique environment for industry partners to work with university staff, faculty, and students to advance new product designs. The OCR partnered with LIFE home to design a corporate engagement strategy, launch the lab, and highlighted the lab to companies on campus visits. Hub for Brand Innovation and Technology Partners with Companies The Marketing Technology Hub, or the “Brand Hub”, provides cutting-edge solutions for data-driven strategic planning and digital promotion. To collaborate and create, advertising students, scholars, and professionals gather at The Brand Hub. Students receive a rich experience-based education that combines action-based learning, professional development, cutting-edge research, and entrepreneurship. In this year’s discussions, the OCR partnered with the Hub to help launch help the launch and formulate a strategy for corporate engagement. The OCR also introduced them to several key contacts and helped them build relationships with companies. IBM and Grainger Partner to Launch New Research Hub The Institute serves as a major building project dedicated to driving new research and innovations in some of the fastest-growing fields of study, such as artificial intelligence, hybrid cloud, and quantum computing, as well as other emerging technologies such as materials discovery and sustainability. Backed by a 10-year, $200 million combined investment from the UI, IBM, and the State of Illinois, the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute pieced together innovative research teams that have begun work on over two dozen projects.

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IMPACTFUL INITIATIVES

IMPACTFUL INITIATIVES

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OCR Annual Report / 2021

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