Development of Entrepreneurship Initiatives

BEST Center Expands Incubator to Manhattan (Fig.1)

NYU-Poly's New Innovation Lab (Fig.2)

According to Dr. Kurt Becker, NYU-Poly tried to set up an incubator before 2008, but failed. After the Great Recession in 2018, NYU-Poly started to put huge efforts on engineering entrepreneurship.

NYU-Poly opened entrepreneurship-related initiatives with the support of New York City

An article in 2009 from Polytechnic reporter describes NYU-Poly expands BEST Center incubator to Manhattan accompanied with the funding and support from New York City government (Fig.1). The incubator program is designed to assist start-up
companies in conducting research and development work to build a commercial product. The idea for expansion of the incubator's activities first camethrough talks between Niswander and officials in the mayor's office. Mayor
Bloomberg, in fact, has made the incubator a key part of his 11-point plan to help
increase and promote entrepreneurial businesses throughout the city in this tough economic climate.

Another article in 2011 from Polytechnic reporter describes NYU-Poly opened a new innovation lab - NYU Poly's Center of Innovation for Technology and Entertainment (Fig.2). It is funded by a $2 milllion state grant. Jerry Hultin, president of Polytechnic Institute of New York University said "With CITE, NYU-Poly's researchers, students, and industry partners are well poised to contribute to the economic growth of New York."

NYU Tandon I2E Initiatives (“Entrepreneurship | NYU Tandon School of Engineering”)

1. NYU Tandon Future Labs
The NYU Tandon Future Labs are business incubators for a new generation. The existing incubators are now integrated into the Future LabThe NYU Tandon Future Labs are the first public-private partnership with New York City tasked with creating a sustainable incubation program focused on increasing the success rate of new ventures and generating positive economic impact.

  • Data Future Lab: Data Future Lab incubates early stage businesses working with computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, or building intelligent conversational agents.
  • Digital Future Lab: Digital Future Lab houses early stage startups focused on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), video, cloud computing, or digital media.
  • Urban Future Lab: Urban Future Lab is New York City’s hub for smart cities, clean energy, and smart grid technology.
  • Veterans Future Lab: Veterans Future Lab houses early stage businesses led by military veterans and contains a prototyping space available to the public via membership.

2. Convergence of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
CIE's mission is to increase diversity and multidisciplinarity in STEM entrepreneurship and provide guidance as well as resources for STEM innovators to start-up.

  • Capstone Competition (started 2016): The aim of this competition is to hone the entrepreneurial skills of the engineering students while they are working on their senior year projects.
  • InnoVention: InnoVention is a 12-week prototyping competition for student entrepreneurs. The competition challenges students to use their technical and scientific expertise to prototype and pitch commercially viable ideas in software and hardware.
  • Student Clubs including Design for America of NYU (DFA), Entrepreneurship and Innovation Association (EIA), Patent Pending: Student clubs focused on entrepreneurship are an ideal way for this to take place, while giving them the opportunity to hone their leadership skills.

3. Vertically Integrated Projects
Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) are multi-year, multidisciplinary projects that emphasize innovative and research-active education. It opens opportunities for students to develop professionally valuable skills while making real-world contributions.

  • 3D Biomedical Devices (GY), Everyday Assistive Technology, NYU Robotic Design Team, NYU Tandon Motorsports, etc. 

4. MakerSpace
MakerSpace is a 10,000 square feet collaborative workspace and lab that provides even greater opportunities for students and faculty to engage in innovative and entrepreneurial activities.

  • Design Lab: The Design Lab is the educational programming and support arm of the NYU MakerSpace.
Development of Entrepreneurship Initiatives