Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center: Bringing Together Industry, Faculty, and Students

The School of Engineering and Computing Sciences (SoECS) of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) is launching a new Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC). The ETIC will consolidate and expand the School's ongoing industry-academic partnerships by fostering innovation and promoting collaborations between industries, the academic community, professional organizations, and government. The ultimate goal of the partnerships is to strengthen the SoECS' educational and programmatic offerings in order to graduate engineering professionals for the 21st Century. The premise is that by creating the right learning environment for students to engage with industry in innovative real-world problem solving, project-based learning, teamwork, direct contact with practitioners, they will gain key competency and entrepreneurship skills required in today's rapidly evolving, globalized economy. Throughout the Center's collaborative process, each business or startup company will have access to faculty and skilled students to test concepts and/or develop fully marketable products. At the same time University residence opportunities will be made available to industry practitioners at the Center, and conversely, Industry residence opportunities will be available to NYIT faculty. Additionally, students will gain operational expertise in turning good ideas into great businesses and will become confident innovators in their own right. As a source for talent, entrepreneurship, and innovation in technology, engineering and applied science, the Center is expected to spur economic growth and ensure greater competitiveness for Long Island and the broader metropolitan region. To document this effort and facilitate its broader adoption, this paper will provide a detailed description of the project, indicating what is being planned, designed, and/or constructed, the issues/opportunities to be addressed, and expected outcomes and deliverables of each of its constituents.