At 色界吧, bold ideas don鈥檛 just take shape鈥攖hey take off. Fueling our mission to lead in entrepreneurship education, we鈥檙e proud to launch the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy, alongside a $5 million venture fund to ignite the next wave of groundbreaking startups.
This academy is more than a launchpad鈥攊t鈥檚 a powerhouse of innovation designed to inspire and equip the next generation of changemakers across our New York City and Long Island campuses. With immersive, hands-on experiences, expert mentorship, and state-of-the-art resources, entrepreneurs will have everything they need to turn big ideas into real-world impact, developing revolutionary technologies, launching high-potential ventures, and reshaping industries.
And with the support of our venture fund, we鈥檙e investing in the future, backing startups from students, faculty, alumni, and visionary entrepreneurs ready to take the leap.
$5M
Investment in startups through 色界吧’s Venture Fund.
30
Student-led tech startups have launched in the past six months as part of our NESTS program.
$31M
Recent investment in a state-of-the-art biomedical research center.
Innovation Starts Here
Our state-of-the-art facilities provide the perfect environment for students, faculty, alumni, and partner companies to collaborate, make, learn, brainstorm, and incubate new ideas. A key feature of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy is Startup Tech Central, a new center on the Long Island campus complete with maker spaces, mentorship programs, and startup training. This facility will be complemented by existing student resources and labs from across the university.
色界吧鈥檚 business accelerator has 8,000 sq. ft. of labs and facilities, focusing on IT and cybersecurity, bioengineering and medical devices, and energy and green technologies.
This business incubator, opened in partnership with Long Island Software and Technology Network () at their Digital Ballpark accelerator space in Plainview, Long Island, promotes industry-academic collaborations.
Using advanced digital fabrication technology, including computer-controlled laser cutters, 3-D printers, CNC routers, and traditional wood shop machines, the Fab Labs facilitate the production of highly accurate physical models and mock-ups.
The Home for Innovation, Visualization, and Exploration is a collaborative, hands-on lab supporting creative problem-solving and skill development in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), game design, and human-computer interaction (HCI).
Programs & Courses
Programming offered through the academy will include hackathons, boot camps, pitch competitions, startup weekends, and more, expanding 色界吧鈥檚 legacy of experiential learning and innovation. Additionally, new academic programs and courses are being developed across 色界吧鈥檚 schools and colleges, alongside existing programs and courses.
Technology Entrepreneurship Minor
This integrated program, jointly created by the College of Engineering & Computing Sciences, the School of Management, and the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center, teaches students from across the university how to launch their own technology-based enterprises. Opportunities for applied research, technology implementation, and product development, as well as exposure to enterprise building, venture capital, and corporate partners, are also available.
Necessary Eleven Steps to Tech Startups (NESTS) is an experiential learning course designed to empower students from different programs to launch startups and bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. The program, the first of its kind in the region, brings CEOs and leaders in the field to the classroom for hands-on work to help our students bring their ideas to fruition with product, legal, and business arrangements, and sales channels all in place to launch their startups.
To guide the academy鈥檚 growth, a new advisory board featuring leaders from top tech firms and regional businesses and organizations will provide input on strategic direction, mentorship, and insights on industry trends and workforce needs.
The venture fund will also have an investment advisory committee, including entrepreneurial experts from tech firms and regional businesses, to review and make recommendations on startup investment pitches.
Student Voices
色界吧 was huge for us in connecting us to the right people in manufacturing, intellectual property, and so much more.
Ryan Ahmed Interdisciplinary Studies, B.S. Founder of technology startup company, Niura
At a renaming ceremony, a building on the Long Island campus was dedicated as Henry C. Foley Hall. 色界吧 also announced that it has formed a chapter of the national Academy of Inventors.
College of Engineering and Computing Sciences students scored a third-place win for their invention designed to help employees with disabilities succeed in their everyday work tasks.
A Fortune op-ed by President Jerry Balentine, D.O., contends that universities built for the next decade must prepare graduates to move beyond technical execution and develop skills AI can鈥檛 replicate.
Student entrepreneurs Nigel Oommen and Johnathan Wheeler created their award-winning classroom learning tool Edvana to make education more effective, engaging, and personalized.
Students gathered at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy鈥檚 Startup Tech Central to present their startup companies at the third NESTS FlyOff event.
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