The IBRL is proud to have shown immense growth and leadership in connecting with equipment manufacturers, and equipment vendors have increasingly seen the benefit of having their skids on site. As IBRL continues to grow and the number of industry connections increases proportionally, equipment manufacturers increasingly see value in aligning with IBRL’s mission and projects.

Several of these manufacturers have requested that test equipment and skids that belong to the vendor are placed at IBRL for little or no cost for extended durations. This benefits the equipment manufacturer by allowing students and clients to train on their equipment. This ensures their equipment is industry standard as students move into careers and companies build manufacturing facilities. IBRL benefits by expanding its resources and capabilities at a nominal cost.

The IBRL values learning in the workplace and is committed to using its cutting-edge assets to provide employees with the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom in a variety of ways, such as through workshops, classes, and demonstrations. IBRL is empowering the workforce to stay ahead of the curve in terms of knowledge and skill.

One of IBRL's leading areas of learning and empowerment is fermentation. IBRL understands that as companies focus on or expand their fermentation-based products and capabilities, existing employees must learn a new skill set and host four short courses designed to give industry representatives hands-on training in fermentation and related processes. These courses receive excellent feedback and are in high demand.

One contributor to the high demand is the way in which these workshops take learning beyond the traditional academic setting and use current industry partners in the teaching process who are doing extraordinary things. This facilitates peer-to-peer engagement among professionals in the industry and allows the industry to grow in ideas together and develop fact- and technology-based standards. If your company is leading in a certain space, it also creates a space for practical feedback from others and helps you continually develop your process to be flexible enough to adapt to different environments.

Additionally, IBRL hosted 2 industry workshops: the Fermentation Short Course in spring 2022 and the Revitalizing Corn Processing Facilities for the Future in Fall 2022. Each of these programs engaged 25 participants from across the bioprocessing industry. At end of March, IBRL will host another engaging workshop titled "Fermentation and the Art of Scaling Up." This event is already expected to host over 40 professionals.

The IBRL's internship program is managed as a collaboration with the Food Science Human Nutrition Pilot Processing Plant (FSHN-PPP). There are approximately 30 undergraduate and graduate students that come from a variety of backgrounds including agricultural and biological engineering (ABE), food science and human nutrition (FSHN), and chemical and biomolecular engineering (CHBE). These students get hands-on training on our equipment and interact with our clients, making them highly competitive in the job market.

Interns have the chance to collaborate with full-time staff on client projects and gain exposure to a range of equipment and procedures which enables them to build valuable professional links and experience. Additionally, through program management, interns participate in weekly safety and technical training that offer detailed, hands-on instruction in operating pilot-scale equipment, completing technical processes, and navigating production scenarios. With successful completion of each training, interns can progress to more autonomous projects, more operational duties, and the prospect of teaching less experienced peers. These hands-on opportunities provide the training industry leaders and graduate programs seek, leading to excellent placement rates within industry roles at start-ups or multinational companies, or prestigious universities for advanced degrees.

Due to its immense success in less than 5 years of operation, the IBRL has the ability to help your company innovate at a rapid pace. The potential talent pipeline, opportunities for professional development, an avenue for brand awareness in a leading community, state-of-the-art facilities, and leading researchers make the IBRL the perfect place for you and your team, products, and ideas to grow. Contact us about these and more ways to engage with the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois.