The University of Illinois System’s long-standing commitment to shaping the state’s economic future through education, research, and innovation continues to spread — this time to senior global leaders who visited Illinois for the Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE).
Though quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced manufacturing, and agriculture took center stage, they were far from the only focus. The conference brought 50 delegates from around the world to Illinois, all eager to engage in discussion on economic and workforce development, technology, energy, logistics, and life sciences — all key points of interest and areas of potential collaboration.
Looking to the U of I System as an example, ACE delegates are eager to leverage Illinois’ successful strategies to bolster existing programs and create new initiatives in their own communities and countries. According to one of the primary organizers of ACE Illinois, that makes the weeklong slate of events — held at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campuses, with stops in other locations such as Peoria and Naperville — a statewide success.
“Often people don’t realize the diversity of communities we have throughout Illinois,” said Jeannette Tamayo, the U of I System’s Associate Vice President for Workforce Development and Community Engagement. “We made sure to convey a wider view of the state and showcase some of Illinois’ gems outside of Chicago.
“ACE delegates got to see how we work together and that a win for one of us is a win for all of Illinois.”
Another sign of a big win? Tamayo said ACE Illinois, the 20th ACE event, garnered the most letters of interest and memorandum of understanding for future projects and partnerships ever executed during ACE.
“We have more in common than we realize. Through our identities and sharing common challenges and solutions, we are helping each other in the Americas,” Tamayo said.
ACE is the premier economic development, innovation and entrepreneurial network of the Americas and is one of the leading events of the Organization of American States (OAS). The internationally connected OAS fosters conversations across 35 independent states of the Americas, focusing on democracy, human rights, security, and development.
The U of I System-led Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) played a key role in OAS and the federal government choosing Illinois for its most recent ACE edition. IIN’s public university-based hubs join with industry and communities on entrepreneurship, research, and workforce development across the state. Tamayo serves as its executive director.
Sparking excitement around a key opportunity, the U of I System shared the history and progress of quantum endeavors across its enterprise. UIUC experts showed the brainpower behind the work — physicists, computer scientists, and authorities from a host of other disciplines. ACE participants gained understanding of the future of quantum exemplified in the system-led Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, as well as the need for pre-quantum training to build a powerful quantum workforce.
“We are a big player in quantum and we were able to show ACE participants that we’re in a cutting-edge position on many fronts because we are intentionally interdisciplinary and inclusive in how we approach essential work,” Tamayo said.
At ACE Illinois, many voices joined to share best practices, as well as visions for progress and positive change. The following is a sampling.
Argentina: Technology to grow food to feed the world
Virginia Avila, Secretary of State of Foreign and Business Affairs from Argentina, wants her country to capitalize on the agricultural advances in Illinois that make the state first in soybean production and second in corn production in the nation.
“My province and your state are similar,” Avila said, referencing Illinois’ status as the fifth-largest economy in the U.S. “Tucumán, the state where I am from, is the biggest sugar producer in Argentina. Visiting Champaign was important for me because you are developing technology to increase the productivity of corn and sugar.”
Avila said she’s inspired to share about innovation and collaboration she learned about at ACE when she’s back in Argentina.
“During ACE, I had the chance to learn more about your institutions, your universities, the public-private partnerships here in Illinois,” she said. “I will bring to my country, to my province, all the knowledge, all the contacts and many ideas that we can implement there.”
Ecuador: Building exchange programs, starting with students
For Walter Mera, president of Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil (UCSG) in Ecuador, the Illinois visit was a homecoming of sorts. Mera earned his master’s degree in structural engineering from UIUC in the 1980s. The civil engineer visited all three U of I system campuses last fall, confident his alma mater and the system could help him continue to develop and strengthen education and research at his institution and in his country.
He was right.
“Two months ago, students from our school of dentistry came to Chicago for a stay of three or four weeks. They attended classes at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry to see procedures,” Mera said, emphasizing his enthusiasm for building on the relationship. “Now we are thinking about bringing structural engineers and civil engineers.”
In true exchange form, Tamayo sees the benefits of partnering with Ecuador, including on an online learning initiative with the University of Illinois Springfield.
“The USCG is a full-service university in the number one commercial city and port in Ecuador,” she said. “The country also offers maritime and water research opportunities, as well as access to the Galapagos Islands, rainforest, Andes mountains, and Amazonia environmental study areas.”
Brazil: Fostering connections this year and next time
Marcus Paulo Lisboa Barbosa, a diplomatic officer from Brazil, found ACE an ideal opportunity to learn about innovation and technological advancements in Illinois. A resident of Brasília, the capital of Brazil, Barbosa was pleasantly surprised to learn about the thriving environment for collaboration the U of I System is known for fostering.
“All the areas that are connected and this environment of collaboration can disseminate knowledge in a systemic way,” Barbosa said. “These mutual benefits were the most interesting part of our visit.”
The next edition of ACE is set to take place in Brazil later this year. Barbosa sees the conference as an opportunity for collaboration with the U of I System, specifically Jerry Dávila. As director of the Brasillinois program, an initiative designed to establish partnerships among Brazilian institutions and the U of I System, Dávila is no stranger to the landscape of developing research in Brazil.
“He mentioned three big areas of interest — political studies, energy, and sustainable development — and these three areas are extremely connected to the main fields of research in Brazil,” Barbosa said. “This partnership can be profitable to both sides.”
Costa Rica: High tech and manufacturing
Alejandra Solano, Costa Rica’s ambassador to OAS, shared her ACE takeaways amid the buzz of excited conversations where event participants not only made connections, but made new friends.
“A lot of high-tech activity is taking place in Costa Rica,” she said. “My main point of interest at ACE is how we can collaborate with developing those technologies — hardware, digital services, working with our U.S. partners in semiconductors.
“There are a lot of ways we can collaborate because we have the same industries, and we have a history of exchange with students and professors.”
One of many experiences Solano will share with her colleagues in Costa Rica is how the U of I System supports and promotes start-ups created by its universities’ faculty, students, and alumni. And how each capitalize on complementary strengths.
“Imagine joining your manufacturing teaching skills with our manufacturing population,” she said. “We can do more, we can do better and we can learn from each other.”
Solano didn’t have to imagine the overwhelming pride she felt for her home country when she heard about quantum advances the system is leading.
“From the perspective of seeing a scientist from Costa Rica as a senior leader in that program, it warmed my heart,” she said of Santiago Nuñez-Corrales, quantum lead research scientist at the world-renowned National Center for Supercomputing Applications at UIUC. “We dedicate a lot of resources to public education, and to see that Costa Ricans can be accepted in the U of I System made me very proud.”
