Procter & Gamble to Open Smart Lab at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois (September 5, 2019) – The Procter & Gamble Company announced today that it will be opening its first Smart Lab at the University of Illinois Research Park.
The Smart Lab will bring together interdisciplinary teams of students from a wide variety of backgrounds to rapidly prototype and innovate in the space of consumer insights. Lab students will work directly with P&G employees to move consumer research projects from concept to execution within weeks rather than months.
“We are excited to be at the forefront of building the next frontier in truly understanding our consumers through cutting-edge technologies. We want to lead the industry in creating products that delight the consumer,” said Mary Lynn Ferguson McHugh, CEO of Family Care and P&G Ventures at P&G. “With an impressive population of talented students from across all disciplines, the University of Illinois is an ideal partner for P&G as we think about our future and seek to further create products that touch lives and improve life.”
“Procter & Gamble is exactly the kind of company will thrive in the Research Park and create new opportunities for the entire community,” said University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign chancellor Robert J. Jones. “It has an established foundation of excellence, and as a result continues to be bold and innovative – a profile similar to our University. We look forward to watching our students broaden their skills and put new advancements in technology in the hands of those who need it most.”
The Smart Lab’s site director, Brad Miller, is an MBA and PhD graduate of the University of Illinois and is excited to be a part of this breakthrough program. “We are on the verge of the next generation of tools and methodologies to find meaningful insights into the ways we touch and improve the lives of our billions of consumers. The Smart Lab will open the door to truly interdisciplinary work, giving us quick insights into human behavior. We are excited to build a space where students can come to learn, grow, and innovate.”
The P&G Smart Lab opens with a small team of University of Illinois students who will start working this fall in a part-time capacity. That model will continue throughout the school year, with students able to work full-time during school breaks and over the summer.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.
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.