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AgentLab — Gies College of Business
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Scaling AI-Powered Education

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An Investment Proposal for AgentLab
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Prepared March 2026 · Origin Ventures & Advancement
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What We've Built

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AgentLab is a student-led development lab at Gies College of Business building multi-agent AI systems that transform how students learn. In under a year, a small team has shipped six production tools already in use at Illinois.

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+ 6 + Production Projects +
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+ 61+ + Students Served +
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+ 97+ + Hours Engagement +
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+ 8 + Student Developers +
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💡
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VentureBots

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5-agent startup coaching. 25 students, 90% satisfaction.

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🧭
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PathShaper

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Adaptive learning with AI-generated curriculum. 186 concepts.

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📚
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Canvas MCP

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90+ tools connecting AI agents to Canvas LMS. Open source.

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💬
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IlliniClaw

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WhatsApp AI TA. 36 students, 109 sessions in BADM 554.

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⚖️
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Inquiring Agents

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5 philosopher-agents debate AI ethics with students.

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🧠
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Cognitive Swarm

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Real-time 3D brainstorming with voice + quadratic voting.

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Every project is open-source, built by graduate students, and designed to work in real classrooms—not just demos. The model is lean: one faculty advisor, two student developers per semester, and commodity cloud infrastructure.

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The Opportunity

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We've proven the concept with minimal resources. Donor investment would let us move from "interesting experiment" to "institutional capability" that positions Gies as a national leader in AI-powered education.

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What Scaling Looks Like

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Investment Tiers

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We've structured three giving levels, each with tangible deliverables. All tiers include naming recognition and annual impact reporting.

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$50,000 / year
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Accelerator
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Covers core operating costs and enables sustainability.

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  • 4 funded graduate research assistants (stipend top-up for existing students)
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  • AI API credits and cloud hosting for all active projects
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  • Basic learning-outcome measurement across deployed tools
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  • Annual impact report shared with donor
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$150,000 / year
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Innovation Lab (Recommended)
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Establishes AgentLab as a recognized center with cross-campus reach.

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  • Everything in Accelerator, plus:
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  • 6–8 funded student developers with structured mentorship program
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  • Part-time program coordinator (staff or advanced doctoral student)
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  • IRB-approved research studies with peer-reviewed publications
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  • Expansion to 10+ courses across 2–3 colleges
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  • Annual showcase event for donors, faculty, and industry partners
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  • Named recognition: "[Donor] AgentLab at Gies"
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$500,000 (endowed)
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Founding Endowment
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Creates a permanent, self-sustaining center for AI in education.

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  • Everything in Innovation Lab, permanently funded
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  • Dedicated lab space in the Business Instructional Facility
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  • Full-time technical director hire
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  • Industry partnership program with practicum placements
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  • Cross-university collaboration fund (peer Big Ten institutions)
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  • Permanent naming: "[Donor] Center for AI-Powered Education"
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Where the Money Goes

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Illustrative annual budget at the $150K Innovation Lab tier.

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CategoryAnnual Cost
Graduate research assistants (6–8 students, stipend top-ups)$60,000
Program coordinator (0.5 FTE staff or doctoral student)$35,000
AI API costs (Claude, GPT-4, Gemini inference at scale)$25,000
Cloud infrastructure (hosting, databases, CDN)$8,000
Research (IRB, conference travel, publication fees)$12,000
Events, materials, and contingency$10,000
Total$150,000
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18-Month Roadmap

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With funding starting Fall 2026, here's what donors can expect.

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Months 1–3
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Foundation. Hire coordinator. Recruit expanded student cohort. Onboard 4–6 new courses for Spring 2027 deployment. Set up IRB protocols.

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Months 4–9
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Scale. Deploy AI tools in 10+ course sections (~500 students). Launch structured mentorship program. Begin first research study on learning outcomes. Host inaugural donor showcase.

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Months 10–15
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Publish & Expand. Submit first peer-reviewed papers. Pilot cross-college deployment (Engineering or Education). Release Canvas MCP 2.0 with enterprise features. Establish industry partnership program.

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Months 16–18
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Sustain. Deliver annual impact report with measurable outcomes. Secure follow-on funding or matching grants. Plan multi-year roadmap with university leadership.

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Why Now

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AgentLab — Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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agentlab.illinihunt.org · github.com/gies-ai-experiments

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Draft — March 2026 · Prepared for Advancement conversations

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