The IU Impact: IU is changing the way higher education works with industry. By producing research partnerships and academic pathways, we're translating our discoveries to the real world and training students to fill critical workforce needs in Indiana.
Indiana is entering a new era of dynamic growth led by the biosciences, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, healthcare and hospitality industries. Just last year, Indiana's biosciences sector generated over $99 billion in economic activity, while its hospitality industry welcomed 30 million visitors who contributed $5.8 billion of economic impact. Increased demand presents opportunities to innovate, and Indiana University is rising to the occasion to help Indianapolis and the state thrive.
By creating new ways to ensure that students graduate with relevant experience, developing cooperative initiatives that strengthen key sectors and delivering research-backed solutions to issues affecting our region, IU is responding to the state's needs in real time and helping define its future.
Where academia meets industry
IU is reimagining how higher education can serve a state's business environment by helping boost existing businesses and creating and attracting new ones.
On Oct. 21, IU LAB held a groundbreaking ceremony for its building, which is expected to be completed in 2027. Photo by Liz Kaye, Indiana University
"IU LAB will unlock the potential of human health innovation by connecting ideas, talent and technology across disciplines and sectors," IU LAB President and CEO David Rosenberg said. "It will do more than advance research; it will drive advancements and commercialization in biosciences that will ultimately shape the future of care, industry and Indiana through collaboration."
IU LAB is already drawing in new companies. For example, the IU Health Incubator at IU LAB will assist up to 40 human health biosciences startups per year and help them grow into major companies. In July, the incubator's pre-accelerator in partnership with gener8tor launched a seven-week program where founders received tailored training to refine their businesses models and learn to raise capital.
Plug and Play launched the IU LAB LifeTech Accelerator on Sept. 30, which will support top-tier startups focused on critical areas such as therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and biotechnology. Photo by Chris Meyer, Indiana University
IU LAB also works to bring IU research to market. In tandem with the Convergent Bioscience and Technology Institute, the Institute for Human Health and Wellbeing, and the Integrated Nanosystems Development Institute at IU Indianapolis, it's leveraging faculty research to patent lifechanging technologies.
The Joint Center of Excellence for Point of Care Precision Medicine, a center co-created by IU and the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, will be housed at IU LAB. The center seeks to transform healthcare outcomes by taking an interdisciplinary approach to discovering and developing new therapies, diagnostics and manufacturing processes, as well as become a genesis for startup ventures to grow.
"IU LAB is a powerful catalyst for Indiana's biosciences sector," said Vince Wong, president and CEO of BioCrossroads. "By connecting promising startups with the resources and partnerships they need to develop and scale, IU LAB is helping unlock Indiana's full potential as a life sciences leader."
Breaking barriers to innovation
IU's strategic partnerships help researchers seamlessly translate their discoveries - accelerating breakthroughs and strengthening Indiana's innovation ecosystem.
A Master Collaboration Agreement between the university and one of the state's largest medical device companies, Cook Medical, is making it easier to propel innovation, removing administrative barriers that can prevent ideas from flowing back and forth.
This all-services model includes research and development, research services, technical certifications, credentialing, workforce training and development, and technical consulting.
Researchers at IU already collaborate with Cook on cutting-edge technology. The Fibers and Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems, or FAMES Lab, at the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering worked with Cook to develop microscopically thin sensors that would revolutionize how surgeons operate.
Another IU-led initiative is bringing together the state's academic leadership with industry expertise to strengthen central and northern Indiana's musculoskeletal health impact.
The Indiana Musculoskeletal Health Partnership for the Advancement of Care & Treatment is a statewide, IU-led consortium with more than 100 partners, including Eli Lilly, Zimmer Biomet, BioCrossroads, OrthoWorx, IU Health and the Regenstrief Institute. The consortium aims to bridge the gap between unmet orthopedic health needs and the technologies - like implants and wearable diagnostics - that can solve them.
Preparing Indiana's best and brightest
When it comes to talent development, IU is a driving force for businesses across central Indiana and the entire state.
At IU Indianapolis, where 90% of graduates remain in Indiana to build their careers, co-op partnerships across sectors equip students with authentic workforce experience, while creating talent pipelines to the state's top employers in biomedical, business and hospitality industries.
Students interested in careers in finance, human resources or information technology can develop their skills through a co-op at Eli Lilly and Company. White Lodging, a hospitality company that operates the JW Marriott and four other hotels in the city, established a co-op for students studying tourism, event and sport management, preparing them for careers in Indianapolis' bustling hospitality industry after graduation. The Kelley School of Business connects students to real-world job experiences at Elanco through its Kelley Indianapolis Business Plus program.
IU is at the nexus of Indiana's progress, aligning industry, research and talent to solve tomorrow's problems today.
