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Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week Returns for Fifth Year

March 4, 2024 | Category: AgTech, Business, Champaign, Champaign County, Community, DCEO, News Room, Parkland College, Research Park, University of Illinois, Urbana

For Immediate Release
March 4, 2024

Contacts:
Carly McCrory-McKay, Executive Director
Champaign County EDC
carly@champaigncountyedc.org
217-649-2586

Laura Bleill, Director, External Engagement
University of Illinois Research Park
lwbleill@Illinois.edu
217-417-6671

Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week Returns for Fifth Year

CHAMPAIGN, IL – The annual Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week, presented by Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, University of Illinois Research Park, and Make It Champaign-Urbana, returns for its fifth celebration March 4-8. The weeklong celebration recognizes Champaign-Urbana’s robust AgTech ecosystem, including the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Parkland College, corporate innovation partners, startups, state-of-the-art facilities, student organizations, local ag companies, the Illinois AgTech Accelerator, iFAB Tech Hub, and more.

“It’s been another incredible year of accomplishments and growth, and we’re excited to celebrate those milestones this week,” said Carly McCrory-McKay, Executive Director at Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. “From the iFAB Tech Hub designation to the groundbreaking of new facilities, we’re excited to showcase why our community is the “epicenter” of AgTech.”

Participating AgTech Week organizations include Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, University of Illinois Research Park, GDM Seeds, Parkland College, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of ACES, Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL), Center for Digital Agriculture, and Office of Corporate Relations.

“Although AgTech innovation knows no season here in Champaign-Urbana, we are thrilled to present our version of March Madness,” said Laura Bleill, Director of External Engagement at the University of Illinois Research Park and chair of the AgTech Summit planning committee. “Our goal is to make AgTech more accessible, as we see more growth and traction in this sector across campus and community year after year.”

The schedule of events includes the following:

  • CU AgTech Week Happy Hour, sponsored by GDM
  • Tours of University of Illinois Research Park (UIRP) and the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL)
  • AgTech Summit & Showcase
  • Center for Digital Ag Conference – The Future of Digital Agriculture
  • Parkland College AgTech Showcase

Champaign-Urbana has long been a hub for technology as well as agriculture. In the past decade, those two paths have converged, paving the way for the community to become an epicenter for AgTech.

Community highlights from the last year include:

The full Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week schedule of events can be found online at https://www.champaigncountyedc.org/business-services/programs-services/cuagtechweek. Registration is required at many events, but all are free to attend.

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