Upcoming Events
| | Austin Polytech informational meeting for prospective students Wednesday, November 10
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Bethel New Life
1140 N. Lamon in Chicago More information
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| About Us | The Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council is a partnership of the region's labor, business, government, education and community leaders working together to establish the Chicago area as a global leader in advanced, high value-added manufacturing. Manufacturing is the single most important sector of the Chicago area's economy. The industry has the largest positive 'ripple effect' on the rest of the economy: each manufacturing job creates three more in related sectors. The industry is directly and indirectly responsible for over 1.7 million jobs in Chicago. The Renaissance Council's flagship initiative is Austin Polytechnical Academy (APA), an advanced manufacturing-focused public high school on Chicago's west side that prepares students for leadership in all areas of the industry. APA students learn about careers in manufacturing by working with our committed partner companies, who provide students with industry exposure and financial support. Our partners contributed over $150,000 to create our new Manufacturing Technology Center, a state of the art on-campus machining facility where students can earn industry-recognized credentials from the National Institute for Metalworking Skills.
| | Support Us | | Your support makes our success possible. We need your help to deliver the resources, networks, and programs to help develop a skilled workforce and keep us on the cutting edge of innovation. Please make your check payable to the Center for Labor & Community Research and mail it to us at 3411 West Diversey, Suite 10, Chicago, Illinois 60647. CLCR is the non-profit fiscal and operational sponsor of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council. You can also contribute online securely through PayPal by clicking below: |
| How MEPs can help drive a manufacturing renaissance
| by Dan Swinney
Executive Director
Starting new initiatives like Austin Polytech is an important step toward establishing Chicagoland as the global leader in advanced manufacturing, but it's equally important to support and develop existing resources like the US Department of Commerce's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. The primary focus of an MEP is to serve manufacturers with fewer than 500 employees -- a key constituency of the Renaissance Council. MEPs help these companies take advantage of opportunities for growth and improvements in productivity. Last year, MEPs nationwide worked with 31,961 manufacturers, providing assistance that created or retained 52,948 jobs, produced $9.1 billion in new and retained sales, and facilitated modernization investments exceeding $1.71 billion. Continue reading and leave a comment
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Help spread the word! APA info meeting on November 10
| | Austin Polytech will hold an informational meeting for prospective students to learn about our program and how APA can help Austin residents build their future in manufacturing. Wednesday, November 10
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Bethel New Life - Amberg Hall
1140 N. Lamon, Chicago, IL 60651
Help us get the word out! If you know any students interested in manufacturing and technology -- or any educators who work with middle and high school students -- please share with them our website and/or event flyer. Leave a comment
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Share, learn, and discuss at ManufacturingRenaissance.org
| | Do you have stories, opinions, or information about manufacturing-related issues? Share them with the world at ManufacturingRenaissance.org, a new blog by the Renaissance Council's fiscal and operational sponsor, CLCR. ManufacturingRenaissance.org is a place for manufacturers, policymakers, community developers, educators, and anyone else who cares about manufacturing-related issues in Chicago and beyond. It's a place to find resources, share manufacturing-related news, and -- most importantly -- exchange ideas with a manufacturing-conscious community about the issues affecting the future of this critical industry. We encourage everyone to submit content, including but certainly not limited to: - News stories or announcements
- Personal experiences in manufacturing
- Non-partisan opinion and commentary
- Links to interesting/helpful resources
- Content in a related area, like STEM education
If you'd like to contribute a post -- or become an author and submit regularly -- please contact communications director Ingrid Gonรงalves at igoncalves@clcr.org or (773) 278-5418 ext. 16. What did you think of this newsletter? Let us know by clicking the "leave a comment" link at the end of each story.
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The "most exciting, moon-shot-quality, high-aspiration initiative... no one has heard of"
| | In his October 12 column, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman shed light on a proposed initiative by President Obama to establish eight innovation hubs across the country, where scientists and other experts can collaborate on renewable energy research and innovation. The program resembles a Renaissance Council proposed initiative, the Austin Renewable Energy Innovation Park. President Obama's version would jump-start research and development in renewable energy, fueling rapid and collaborative technological innovation. Friedman summarizes: The idea behind the hubs, explained Chu, is to "capture the same spirit" that produced radar and the first nuclear bomb. That is, "get Nobel Prize winners in physics working side by side with engineers" - not to produce an academic paper but "to solve a problem in a way that will actually be deployed" and do it much faster than the traditional academic model of everyone working in their own silo. The problem is that Congress, preoccupied with the deficit and election season, is reluctant to allocate the $25 million required to set up each innovation hub -- let alone the $1 billion required to fund all eight. It's important to cut back on wasteful and unnecessary expenses. However, legislators' short-sighted refusal to invest in US technological leadership will end up costing us dearly in the long run. Now is the time to support growth-producing industries that drive innovation, support manufacturing, and create long-term development to keep us ahead in the future. Leave a comment
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Press coverage triple-whammy for Austin Polytech
| | What do Chicago Tonight, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune have in common? They all featured great stories about Austin Polytech this month. On October 14, WTTW's acclaimed current affairs show, Chicago Tonight, aired a segment about Austin Polytech by Chicago News Cooperative reporter Ash-har Quraishi. The segment complemented a New York Times feature on APA, the first in a series of articles by Chicago News Cooperative reporter Meribah Knight, who will be following three seniors throughout the year. A week later, the Chicago Tribune profiled Austin Polytech as part of the Holiday Giving campaign by Chicago Tribune Charities, a McCormick Foundation Fund. Leave a comment
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