IMEC Funds Scholarly Research Grant for Illinois Faculty Members

The Future of Illinois Grant Program will engage higher education to address the needs of Illinois manufacturers.

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Mar 01, 2022, 13:56 ET

Illinois, March 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MEC, the Illinois affiliate of the U.S Commerce NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network, has begun accepting applications for the Future of Illinois Manufacturing Grant Program. This grant, worth up to $50,000 per project, is designed to engage university and community college faculty to advance the understanding and the application of innovative solutions for Illinois small and mid-sized manufacturers.

The idea for this grant began with IMEC and Future iQ's recently published Future of Illinois Manufacturing report. The key findings show significant change and opportunity ahead for Illinois manufacturers.

"This grant offers a unique opportunity for faculty members in our community to apply their skill and knowledge to the betterment of Illinois' manufacturing sector. Project proposals will be reviewed based on whether they address a clearly defined and applied need for manufacturing, but topics of interest can vary from supply chain and automation to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives." – David Boulay, Ph.D. President – IMEC.

Funding is available to faculty members at any university or community college in the state of Illinois, no matter their discipline.

If you are a faculty member of a university or community college located in Illinois, to learn more about the program and to apply, visit www.imec.org/futuregrant.

About IMEC

IMEC is a team of improvement specialists who are dedicated to changing lives and creating a positive impact on Illinois' workforce and economy. With a mission to drive growth through enterprise excellence, they help organizations become more effective and efficient by identifying issues, developing and implementing solutions, and providing the necessary support that will allow them to excel in areas of leadership, strategy, customer engagement, operations, workforce, and measurement and results. In 2021, they assisted over 1,600 companies and help create or retain over 5,679 jobs, resulting in over $450M aggregate impact to the Illinois economy. IMEC has seven offices statewide and 48 full-time industry improvement specialists. For more information, visit www.imec.org.

IMEC is one of the 51 MEP Centers in the US and Puerto Rico. MEP Centers are part of the MEP National Network, which includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) and over 1000 manufacturing experts at over 400 service locations, with the tools and resources to help US manufacturers succeed and advance US Manufacturing. Being that each Center is a public-private partnership, they are able to connect manufacturers with government agencies, universities and research facilities, trade associations and many more resources that foster growth and innovation. In 2021, The MEP National Network helped manufacturers created and retain over 125,000 jobs. Find your local MEP Center here.

SOURCE IMEC