Illinois Innovation Talent Project (ILIT)

Illinois Innovation Talent Project (ILIT) enhances student performance and the development of critical thinking skills through industry-focused projects that embody the updated National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). This program is led by a public/private partnership among the State of Illinois’ leading educational and development agencies and its business and industry associations including the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Illinois Math and Science Academy, and iBIO Institute.

ILIT connects high school educators with industry professionals to develop real-world problem-based learning (PBL) projects for math and science students. Educators and industry representatives present problems to high school students. Students collaborate as members of diverse interdisciplinary teams utilizing leading-edge information technology tools to create potential solutions to each problem. Twenty-three geographically and demographically diverse schools participated in the pilot project.

iBIO Institute and its partners sponsored 5 ILIT projects:

Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, Chicago
Valent BioSciences Corporation, Libertyville

Maine East High School, Park Ridge
Astellas Pharma US, Deerfield

Lindblom Math & Science Academy, Chicago
Baxter International Inc., Deerfield

Niles West High School, Niles
Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park

MacArthur High School, Decatur
Tate & Lyle, Decatur

*Eisenhower High School, Decatur
*Tate & Lyle, Decatur

The vision for the Innovation Talent Project involves statewide scale-up of the project, creating alignment across the pre-kindergarten to graduate school pipeline, and incorporation of the mission and objectives into other initiatives such as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Career and Technical Education, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition, and inquiry-based science standards.

* Funding for this project provided by Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

HIGH SCHOOL	PARTNER
Alton High School (Lewis & Clark Community College)	Great Rivers Land Trust
Astoria High School	Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge
Casey-Westfield High School	City of Casey Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Christopher High School	Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Mulkeytown Area Historical Society Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau
Glenbrook South High School	Allstate Insurance
Hyde Park Academy High School (Roosevelt University – Gear Up) (National Louis University)	City of Chicago, Department of the Environment
Limestone Community High School (Illinois Central College)	Excel Foundry
Marine Military Academy	Argonne National Laboratory NASA
New Athens High School	Broadband Deployment Council Office of the Lt. Governor
Niles North High School	PCTEL, Inc. American Electronics Association (AeA)
O'Fallon Township High School	City of O'Fallon Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Karasek Architecture
Rochelle Township High School	Nestle
Rolling Meadows High School	Illinois Department of Transportation
Senn High School	TEC Services Consulting, Inc.
Thornridge High School	NOW Foods
United Township High School	John Deere
Williams Medical Preparatory School of Medicine	Illinois Department of Public Health Office of Health Promotion