Chicago LEAD is a joint university initiative that turns classroom knowledge into real business impact—by putting student teams to work on live AI projects for Chicago companies.
AI is transforming every sector, but companies keep hitting the same wall: talent that pairs technical skill with real business judgment is hard to find. Plenty of developers know the models—far fewer have managed a client, scoped an ambiguous problem, or shipped something a business will actually use.
Founded by Northwestern University and Northeastern Illinois University with support from the National Science Foundation and the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program, LEAD closes that gap with experiential learning. Cross-university student teams work ten-week projects sourced from local companies, guided by faculty advisors with both industry and development experience.
The result is talent that arrives job-ready—and a growing applied-AI ecosystem that positions Chicago as a national hub for turning innovation into measurable impact.
Every brief comes from a Chicago company with a genuine problem, real data, and real users—not a case study.
Teams of three to five students from different schools learn to collaborate the way real workplaces do.
Mentors with industry and development backgrounds coach students through the technical and the professional.
Success is measured in working prototypes and business value, not grades—so students build judgment, not just code.
Each project runs ten weeks, with the option to extend when both the team and the company see continued value.
Students from our four partner universities across the Chicago area, working in cross-university teams of three to five.
Companies bring a problem they want to address, access to the project data and resources, and a lead who meets with the team on a weekly basis.
Students on LEAD projects have built data pipelines, content authoring platforms, research assistants, time-saving automations, recommendation systems, and more. We work with clients ahead of project launch to make sure projects are appropriately shaped and scoped to fit both student and client needs.
Projects launch three times a year – late September, late January, and mid-June – so the longest wait to begin is one term. Scoping happens in the two months before launch.
Submit project proposals through our project submission form. We'll follow up and reach out to discuss your project.
Companies, students, and schools all have a place in LEAD. Here's how to start.
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Chicago LEAD