Building Wisconsin’s Economy
UW–Madison is a powerful economic engine for the state of Wisconsin. Academic programs are constantly adapting to meet the needs of state business and industry. Faculty research is spurring innovations that lead to new companies and high-paying Wisconsin jobs. Direct services to the business community are keeping the state competitive.
Knowledge workforce: UW–Madison graduates approximately 9,000 students every year from a broad range of academic programs. More than a dozen networked career centers help businesses recruit students for full-time employment as well as internship and co-op experiences.
Building our own business: University Research Park now is home to 110 companies — many of which are based in biotechnology and life sciences — employing 5,500 people, up from 4,000 last year. The park has been so successful that the university is already planning Research Park II, which will bring an estimated 200 companies and 15,000 new jobs to Dane County.
Discovery on the horizon: The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery will play a key role in facilitating the technology transfer from lab to business. A public-private partnership that combines $100 million in private gift support and a $50 million commitment from the state, the institutes will bring together scientists from a broad spectrum of disciplines to attack the problems of disease, advance regenerative medicine and solve other important problems.
Biotech blooms: The master’s in biotechnology degree program is creating a new generation of talent for Wisconsin’s fast-growing biotech industry, named one of the nation’s top five biotech “hotspots” by Forbes magazine. Launched in 2002, the program has produced more than 50 graduates, with 40 more currently enrolled.
Natural-born leaders: UW–Madison is tied with Harvard for the largest number of graduates serving as CEOs of companies in the S&P 500 Index.
Transferring benefits: The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which supports university research through patenting and licensing services, received the National Medal of Technology in 2005, the highest honor granted by the president of the United States for innovation in using technology to better the economy and the lives of citizens.
In good company: Executive education, based at the Fluno Center on the UW–Madison campus, each year offers more than 220 public programs covering 80 business topics, as well as numerous custom programs for companies worldwide. One of the largest executive education programs in the United States, in 2005 it served more than 500 Wisconsin companies.
Sustaining Dairyland: The Center for Dairy Profitability looks for new strategies to help Wisconsin dairy farms thrive, including an innovative online program directed at beginning dairy farmers. With more than 17,000 farms, the dairy industry has an $18 billion impact on Wisconsin’s economy, but faces new challenges from California and Southwest competition.
Corporate portal: The Office of Corporate Relations, which works to strengthen the state’s economy by serving as an initial point of contact for university resources, made more than 543 company contacts and 66 presentations to companies and groups. The office also responded to 403 requests for information and assistance during the past year — and, of those, 63 percent came from Wisconsin companies.
Startup support: The MG&E Innovation Center, located in the University Research Park, has helped more than 40 fledgling technology business ideas take flight since opening in 1999. Demand is so strong that the center is planning to double its capacity.
Listening to industry: The College of Engineering has more than a dozen research consortia that provide a direct pipeline for sharing expertise with government and industry. Companies benefit by seeing work in progress, helping set research directions, and interacting with faculty and students.
Bread-and-butter business: Family businesses account for 78 percent of all new job creation, yet most family business ventures fail in their first attempt. The Family Business Center has helped hundreds of Wisconsinites maintain a profitable business and successfully pass ownership to the next generation.
