Media Advisory: 2020 AgTech Innovation Summit
Media Advisory
March 2, 2020
Contact: Laura Weisskopf Bleill,
217-417-6671 | [email protected]
AgTech Innovation Summit returns to Champaign for fifth year
What: 2020 AgTech Innovation Summit
When: Wednesday, March 4, 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Where: I Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 S. First St. Champaign, IL
Why: The University of Illinois Research Park hosts the AgTech Innovation Summit to connect the brightest minds in agtech. The AgTech Innovation Summit features a unique mix of investors, large corporations, prominent academics, and startups to provide a well-rounded perspective on the future of AgTech. The 2020 AgTech Innovation Summit is presented by Bayer and The Climate Corporation.
Allen Christian, Bayer’s Senior Vice President, Open Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, described the Summit’s impact.
“The future of agricultural innovation lies in the hands of the next generation of talented students. The AgTech Summit is a great example of how bringing people from across scientific disciplines together can help shape a more sustainable future for one of the world’s most important industries. At Bayer, we are proud to partner with the University of Illinois through our Innovation Center in the Research Park and as a sponsor the AgTech Summit.”
The AgTech Summit unites people from coast to coast in Champaign, IL, a place that holds a special place in the hearts of many. One of those people includes The Climate Corporation’s Chief Science Officer Sam Eathington, who will open the Summit with some remarks. As an alum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eathington said:
“University of Illinois has been near and dear to my heart for 35 years, and farming has come a long, long way since then. I’m honored to be able to open the summit this year. Given the magnitude and scope of the challenges facing agriculture, the conversations we’ll be having at the summit are exactly what we need to help deliver the next evolution in AgTech.”
The AgTech Summit is programmed by the University of Illinois Research Park in partnership with the Office of Corporate Relations and the College of ACES. The generous sponsors who make the AgTech Summit possible include: Bayer and The Climate Corporation, John Deere, Kin + Carta, Google Cloud, Corteva, COUNTRY Financial, AGCO, Land O’Lakes, and the Illinois Center for Digital Agriculture.
About the Research Park at the University of Illinois
The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a technology hub for startup companies and corporate research and development operations. Within the Research Park there are 120 companies employing students and full-time technology professionals. More information at researchpark.illinois.edu. Find the Research Park on Twitter at @UIResearchPark.