1871 announced Wednesday that Trinity Christian College will kick off an associate membership at 1871, which includes access to shared co-working space, conference rooms, and certain events, as well as the opportunity for students to participate in Campus 1871, a weekend-long event that brings together approximately 300 students from 1871’s university partners. Campus 1871 — which includes design and business workshops and one-on-one mentoring with entrepreneurs drawn from the 1871 member community — challenges participating student teams to ideate and model a business concept before pitching to a panel of experts for prizes. “The vision and motivation shared by a group of entrepreneurs in the 1950s was the spark and spirit for Trinity’s founding,” said Trinity President Kurt D. Dykstra.

“Today, that same entrepreneurial spirit of our faculty and students dovetails perfectly with 1871’s focus on innovation. By joining with 1871, the next generation of Trinity’s entrepreneurs will be even better positioned to develop their skills, knowledge, organizations, and businesses in the country’s most dynamic startup environment.” Trinity Christian College is the eighth institution of higher learning to form a partnership with 1871. Other partners include University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Loyola University, University of Illinois, DeVry University, and Illinois Institute of Technology, and most recently, DePaul University, which joined in 2016. “1871 has a long history of developing roots in the student community throughout the Midwest,” said 1871 VP of Operations Laura Clark, who oversees 1871’s relationships with university partners. “These students are the next generation of entrepreneurs, and by continually expanding and deepening our relationships with local universities, we foster an environment where talented students graduate and are excited to start building their own businesses right here in Chicago.”