Affiliation Benefits

While Research Park provides Research Park companies and their employees access to resources like professional development workshops, recruiting assistance, mentorship, and networking events, our on-campus location also allows corporations and startups to access benefits offered by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Allied Status Benefits

Allied Agencies can receive specific benefits offered by the University of Illinois for being located on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Employees who work at Research Park and EnterpriseWorks companies can access campus resources. A few of these resources include access to:

• Campus recreational facilities at faculty and staff rates
• University of Illinois WiFi across the Urbana-Champaign campus
• Campus stores for companies to purchase business products and services at competitive prices
• University meeting facilities on the same terms as University units
• University cultural programs at faculty and staff rates
• Library affiliate status allows access to borrow books from the library
• Facility use agreements to access University of Illinois laboratory equipment and facilities

To receive Allied Agency status, follow these steps:

1.  Complete the form below which will route the application to Research Park team. 
2. Once approved, the team will ask for a list of company employees. 
3. Once that list is received, we can begin the next process. 

ALLIED AGENCY APPLICATION

Card Requests

Employees working at University of Illinois Research Park companies can begin accessing these resources by requesting a Net ID and requesting a Research Park card. A Net ID and Research Park card demonstrate employment at the Research Park and grant access to university-administered resources.

Employees of Research Park companies may make three different types of requests.

• Net ID: Grants access to the University of Illinois WiFi network.
• Prox Card: Grants access to tenant office space at EnterpriseWorks.
• Research Park Card: Grants access to university-administered resources.

SUBMIT A Net id/CARD REQUEST

1. Request a NetID: Employees of Research Park companies should request a Net ID.
2. After requesting a NetID, request an Illinois.edu email address by contacting Tech Services.
3. Then, you may request a Research Park card.
4. Visit the ID Center located at the Illini Union Bookstore to get your card.

Facility Use Agreements

Companies can gain access to University of Illinois laboratory equipment and facilities by entering into Facilities Use Agreements and/or Technical Testing Agreements with the University.

The top requested research facilities include the clean-room labs within the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, various sophisticated lasers, and microscopy. Companies also may access the Blue Waters sustained petascale computing facility.

Companies also have access to rapid prototyping and machine shop services through the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering. Clients pay on a cost-recovery basis (materials and labor only), so prices are extremely low compared to commercial service options.

Faculty and staff-founded companies located in EnterpriseWorks and the Research Park can set up interdepartmental agreements for technical testing or facilities use, resulting in substantial savings compared to external company use rates.

More Information

• For more information on other available campus resources, visit our campus resources page here.
• For details on the benefits of being an allied organization, please visit the Office of Corporate Relations website here.