The NYIT Business Incubator at the Manhattan campus is heating up with new computers, a conference room, and wall-length whiteboards for students interested in hatching business plans and entrepreneurial ideas. It’s all part of a recent initiative to instill a culture of entrepreneurship within the School of Management.

The newest additions include the start of a chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization Club, a student-launched publication and broadcasting venture called TheBizDen, and the incubator space on the fourth floor of 26 W. 61st St. at NYIT-Manhattan.

Most recently, the incubator was the meeting place for NYIT interdisciplinary teams that created business plans for two new ventures: an online interactive game for fi nding and saving endangered species and a water-bottle roofing system. Each team won an award at the New York State Business Plan Competition in April.

“The incubator is getting a lot of traction,” says Entrepreneur-in-Residence Roy Arad (B.S. ’07). “Students are coming to know it and are very interested.”

Joanne Scillitoe, associate professor and director of NYIT’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, says the incubator’s importance rests more on its ability to nurture ideas of networking and support. The space also offers a sleek, modern environment for students who want to meet potential investors for startup businesses.

“This is providing added value for them,” Scillitoe says. “It’s a support mechanism for creating their business plans, and helping to find the networks they need to develop their businesses.”

Several students who use the center have already launched businesses in the areas of social media, computer customization, and digital technology.

“The mission of the center is all about the learning aspect,” says Scillitoe. “It’s nurturing, and it gives them the time and space to still be students.”

More Campus Buzz

Vol. 10 No. 2 Table of Contents