NYIT Launches Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) and its School of Engineering and Computing Sciences yesterday unveiled its Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC), an 8,000 square-foot facility on its Old Westbury campus featuring a business accelerator, collaborative entrepreneurial space, and laboratories for joint projects among industry, the academic community, professional organizations, and government.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the launch of the new facility, which will focus on three technological drivers of economic growth in the New York metropolitan region: IT and Cybersecurity; Bio-Engineering and Medical Devices; and Energy and Green Technologies. Funding for the Center, whose mission is to consolidate and expand NYIT’s ongoing industry-academic partnerships, was first announced in June 2012 and has been provided by federal and state agencies, and augmented by funds from NYIT and the support of numerous industry partners.

“This event is an illustration of our core beliefs, a shining proof that NYIT is at the forefront of knowledge and technology, bringing together academia, industry, and government,” Nada Marie Anid, Ph.D., dean of NYIT’s School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, said during the launch ceremony.

Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., NYIT president, said during the ceremony, “This new center positions NYIT as what all universities aspire to: an important idea incubator, a zone of exploration where we promote entrepreneurship, take risks, reward creativity, breed technology innovation, and foster interdependent learning in partnership with industry."

Andrew Reid, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration representative for New York and Pennsylvania, remarked that it was fantastic to see projects like the ETIC come to fruition, especially when they have a “potentially huge impact on the region.” Cara Longworth, the regional director for Long Island for the Empire State Development Corporation and executive director of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, congratulated NYIT for being the first educational institution in New York State to receive State funding for a technology grant to drive economic growth in New York, before reading aloud a letter from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

Additional speakers at the launch event included representatives of numerous elected officials at the state and local levels, as well as industry partners: 

• Deborah Tinnirello, Regional Director for Long Island for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand;
• Michael Stinson, Education Director for U.S. Congressman Steve Israel;
• Nicholas Terzulli, Director of Business Development, Nassau County IDA;
• Mark L. Hanny, Vice President, Software Group Channels, IBM; and
• Peter Curtis, President and CEO of Power Management Concepts, who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering at NYIT. 

According to Anid, due to the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and the New York State Empire State Development Corporation, along with that of NYIT industry partners, the ETIC is poised to be a catalyst for talent development and technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and will support the economic development of Long Island and the greater New York metropolitan region.

The ETIC has been developed with grants of $1.2 million and $400,000, respectively, from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and Empire State Development Corp., along with matching funds from NYIT and the support of the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences’ Dean's Executive Advisory Board, for total funding of more than $2.4 million. 

Advisory board members include representatives from Alcatel Lucent; AT&T; CA Technologies; CloudCalc, Inc.; Dealertrack Technologies; Dell Research; Dvirka and Bartilucci Consulting; Goldman Sachs; Fortinet; IBM; iconectiv; IPS; Juniper Networks; Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.; Maser Consulting; Mottspoint Consulting; Noresco; Northrop Grumman Co.; Pegasus Global Holdings, Inc.; Power Management Concepts, LLC; Princeton Power Systems; Owl Computing Technologies, Inc., Qualcom;  Retliff Testing Laboratory; SANS Technology Institute, and Zebra.

This launch marks the completion of the infrastructure renovation phase and the beginning of the center’s programming and research and business partnership development. Currently, NYIT is working with industry and entrepreneurs to sign non-disclosure and space usage agreements; proposals are under consideration with several companies, including some that are local, some outside of New York, and others outside of the country.