Microsoft gives more than $1.25 million to UW-Milwaukee to support smart technology systems

Microsoft Corp. and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced a new partnership Monday to bolster the school's research and innovations in the burgeoning world of smart technology.

The more than $1 million gift will go to UWM's Connected Systems Institute, which launched in November 2017 with a $1.7 million investment from Rockwell Automation.

The institute brings together researchers and students from UWM's College of Engineering & Applied Science and the College of Business to advance the use of smart technology in manufacturing and the business world.

In addition to $1.25 million in cash, Microsoft will also give the institute access to Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing and data storage software, and several Surface Hub interactive whiteboards. The partnership also aims to build opportunities for Microsoft employees to work with faculty and students at UWM to support research, innovation and training around smart devices.

The Connected Systems Institute "is fundamentally about all of the smart devices ... and this is just going to become a huge part of the world," Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Journal Sentinel. "Current estimates are that there will be 75 billion smart devices in the world by the year 2025 — this will be a $2.7 trillion market."

The Connected Systems Institute's work focuses largely on helping businesses and manufacturers use technology to be more efficient: from creating sensor systems on factory floors that can pinpoint bottlenecks in production, to smart heating and cooling systems that can monitor themselves in real time and alert technicians before malfunctions occur.

Microsoft joins Rockwell, We Energies, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and A.O. Smith (the country's largest water heater manufacturer) as a partner in the institute.

Much of the institute's work centers on testing and making individual pieces of new technology — whether that's sensors, smart tablets or artificial intelligence tech — to build broad systems that are usable on a large scale. The work can help in the manufacturing industry, but also make home energy systems or water systems used every day more efficient, reliable and sustainable.

"This concept applies to every problem that you see around us," said Adel Nasiri, interim executive director of the institute and a UWM professor of electrical engineering.

Smith said Microsoft hopes its investment will foster more research, strengthen the institute's work with major companies in Wisconsin and beyond and, ultimately, create jobs and train the workforce of the future.  

"The real goal of all of this should be to create the next generation of jobs and this is the kind of thing that we would hope will add to economic growth in the Milwaukee area," Smith said.

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The Connected Systems Institute has seen growing investment from companies over the years, as employers aim to keep their employees trained on new technology and ensure students are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. 

Microsoft, in particular, has broadened its footprint in the state over several years. In 2017, the tech giant launched a $10 million partnership with the Green Bay Packers to create TitletownTech, a startup accelerator, venture capital fund and lab next to Lambeau Field.

The state benefits in part from the fact that several Microsoft leaders have roots in Wisconsin. CEO Satya Nadella earned his master's degree in computer science from UWM in 1990, Smith grew up in Appleton and Microsoft's Chief People Officer Kathleen Hogan grew up in Wauwatosa.

Smith said those local ties helped start the conversation with UWM, but that the unique mission of the Connected Systems Institute and the school's strong partnerships with local companies helped seal the deal. The hope is that this investment inspires other out-of-state companies to invest in Wisconsin and Milwaukee.

"While in some ways we think about high-tech and computing and think first of places like Silicon Valley or the West Coast, when you think about these smart devices, the upper Midwest in general and Milwaukee in particular is very well-positioned to succeed," Smith said. "In part it's because of the history of innovation and manufacturing ... that have been part of Milwaukee's history since the 1800s. That created companies like Johnson Controls, or JCI, and Rockwell Automation."

UWM will expand its connected systems efforts beyond the Microsoft gift; the university will soon launch a new master's program in connected systems, Nasiri said.

UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said the partnerships between industry, the university and state government make the institute a place that supports researchers and professionals who are looking to address the needs of the future.

"We're really pleased to see those pieces come together to provide talent for the future — talent that's ready to go," Mone said.

Contact Devi Shastri at 414-224-2193 or DAShastri@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DeviShastri.