New York, NY – The success of education depends on connecting research with classroom learning, NYIT associate professor Joanne Scillitoe said as she shared lessons from her research at the first Provost Discovery Luncheon.

Scillitoe, who teaches entrepreneurship in the School of Management, spoke Tuesday about her investigations into innovation in technology incubators, which are used to nurture business ventures. She identified two approaches to innovation, distinguishing between the limited scope of innovation driven by customer needs (analytic process) and the radical changes made by interdisciplinary thought leaders (interpretive process). Her research explores how incubators draw on these processes.

Through her effort to put theory into day-to-day practice, Scillitoe heads the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at NYIT. This is the university incubator that allows students to work on ideas with a network of mentors from different disciplines. Scillitoe encouraged her colleagues to participate in the center and to help show students the educational benefits that come from entrepreneurship.

Rahmat Shoureshi, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs, hosted the meeting at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway. It was the first of what he says will be luncheons each semester to share faculty scholarship with the NYIT community. The next discovery lunch will be this Thursday, Nov. 3 at Riland Auditorium at 12:45 p.m. in Old Westbury. The presenters: Shiang-Kwei Wang, associate professor of education, Hui-Yin Hsu, associate professor of education, and Lisa Runco, associate professor of life science. They will discuss their collaboration, "Cyber-Enabled Learners: Digital Natives in Integrated Scientific Inquiry Classrooms."

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New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

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Briana Samuels
Communications Specialist
516.686.1354