NYIT wins $1.2M for entrepreneurship center

A new entrepreneurship center on the New York Institute of Technology's Old Westbury campus has won $1.2 million in federal funding, officials said Thursday.

In a joint announcement, Sens. Charles Schumer (D- N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) said the money from the federal Economic Development Administration would spur creation of high-technology jobs at businesses in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The federal support for NYIT's Entrepreneurship & Technology Innovation Center follows $400,000 from New York State, secured in December 2011 by the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council.

The $2-million center will work with companies and industry trade groups to prepare students for high-tech careers.

Sixty-five private-sector jobs are expected to be created in information technology, cybersecurity, bioengineering, health care analytics, energy and green technologies, according to NYIT spokeswoman Elaine Iandoli.

The center, which will be part of NYIT's School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, represents a consolidation and expansion of existing partnerships with industry, officials said.

"The high-tech industry will provide the jobs of the future, and this investment will help ensure those jobs are created right here," Schumer said.

The government aid will be used to renovate 5,300 square feet in a campus building for the new center. Private sources will provide $425,000.

NYIT president Edward Guiliano said, "The center will create jobs, save jobs, create human capital and invest in marketplace technologies and high-tech enterprises."

NYIT's endeavor, Israel said, will help Long Island to "attract more private investment, launch businesses and further [the region's] role as a high-tech hub for economic growth."

Hofstra, Stony Brook and other universities also have programs encouraging students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or math.