Sometimes, people with innovative ideas and projects need a little extra help or guidance. Because of this, several of the University’s campus offices are sponsoring the first University of Illinois Entrepreneurship Forum Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications Auditorium, or NCSA, in Urbana. 

The event is meant to “highlight the breadth of entrepreneurial activities across our campus,” according to a representative for the Office of the Provost, the main sponsor of the forum. The event will feature talks by panelists involved in entrepreneurship, followed by open forum discussions. The panel discussions will vary from “idea validation” to “entrepreneurship funding information,” said Stephanie Larson, project market coordinator for the Technology Entrepreneurship Center, one of the event’s sponsors. All RSOs have also been invited to the forum, and will set up their booths around the NCSA atrium for attendees to learn about other entrepreneurship opportunities the campus already offers, she said. 

Larson said that because the forum revolves around the idea of “local entrepreneurship,” Champaign-Urbana start-up businesses will cater the event. 

“In support of campus entrepreneurship, all of the catered food provided will be from local entrepreneurs,” Larson said. “The ‘Cracked’ food truck will cater breakfast, and L.A. Gourmet, a company formed by Lauren and Annie, two University alumnae, will serve lunch.”

In anticipation of the event, an online forum has been created for students and faculty who would like to register to attend. On this forum, they can also view a list of all panelists and read about John Rogers, the keynote speaker for the event. Rogers is a physical chemist and materials engineer at the University and is the inventor of more than 80 patents and patent applications, with 50-plus of these either licensed or used by businesses, according to his faculty profile on the department of material science and engineering web site.

Laura Bleill, marketing coordinator at University’s Research Park, explained that the idea for the forum came from a “round table” discussion on entrepreneurship at the University by the Office of the Provost that took place over a year ago.

“This forum will serve as an opening to a greater discussion about entrepreneurship at the University,” Bleill said. “There are many opportunities for innovation on campus, and we want to showcase that and hopefully make these opportunities even greater.”

Though it is the first year of the event, turnout is expected to be around 200 attendees, according to Larson.

While registration for the event ended on Tuesday, all students, staff and faculty who want to attend will still be welcomed, Bleill said.

Though the forum page has been created solely for the event, the home page will stay active and serve as a portal for entrepreneurship opportunities at the University in the future, Larson said.

“We’re hoping to make it an annual event,” Larson said. “We’re looking to make our online portal even more comprehensive as well.”

Hannah can be reached at [email protected].