Senior university officials form University of Illinois told the Board of Trustees at a special meeting that the new Illinois Manufacturing Lab will extend benefits to the city of the Chicago besides the university.

The new Illinois Manufacturing Lab, which was announced by Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday, will allow small- and medium-sized manufacturers to increase their competitiveness in the regional and national market and win more customers in the country and abroad. The new unit will help manufacturers to quickly adopt new technologies and become more streamlined and more profitable.

The Illinois Manufacturing Lab will begin with a pilot programme involving 10 Illinois manufacturers. CaralynnNowinski, associate vice president for Innovation & Economic Development of the Office of the Vice President for Research said that the lab is just a new start. He also said that the lab is an innovation based platform for economic development in the state. He pointed out that the lab will improve the University, the state and Chicago.

The university had made the economic development of the state, the mission of the University in 2000 and the special meeting was called to discuss the role of the educational institution in the development of the state.