Tech hub collaboration between UChichago and U of I

https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/new-tech-hub-collaboration-between-university-of-chicago-u-of-i/

The University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign are coming together in a new partnership as part of the Illinois Innovation Network – a group of high-tech research and academic institutions, startups and “innovation-driven enterprises.”

The “major innovative initiative” will bring around 100 faculty, researchers and students from the Champaign-based school and the U of C to the latter’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Hyde Park.

The network, housed inside the Harper Court commercial area, is aimed to develop and commercialize groundbreaking technology in fields ranging from cancer research to the production of clean water. It will give researchers and others the chance to research cures for cancer, predictive analytics and more, officials said.

The Polsky Center Innovation complex will be located at 53rd and South Lake Park, roughly a mile north of the proposed Obama Center.

What’s your take on this? Does this have the chance to be a really good thing for the university?