Cornell University nabs NYC tech campus
Cornell University and an Israeli institution have won a bid to build a new technology campus in New York City.
Cornell announced on Monday it had won the bid to build the NYCTech Campus on Monday, in collaboration with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The campus will have around 2,500 students, 280 faculty members and 2m-square feet of classroom and research space.
"Thanks to this outstanding partnership and groundbreaking proposal from Cornell and the Technion, New York City's goal of becoming the global leader in technological innovation is now within sight," the city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said in a statement. "By adding a new state-of-the-art institution to our landscape, we will educate tomorrow's entrepreneurs and create the jobs of the future. This partnership has so much promise because we share the same goal: to make New York City home to the world's most talented workforce."
The rise and rise of Silicon Valley has led to local technology development initiatives across the world. NYCTech Campus will sit alongside the UK's East London Tech City scheme and Russia's Skolkova project as attempts by regions to replicate Silicon Valley's success.
Around 20,000 construction jobs are needed for the campus's construction on an 11-acre plot on Roosevelt Island and it will ultimately host 8,000 permanent jobs.
Cornell's bid was supported by a $350m (£223m) gift to the university from an anonymous donor, which will help fund the project. Aside from providing graduate degrees and conducting research, the campus will also have spaces to help incubate technology start-ups to give them guidance as they grow.
The campus will administer a $150m fund that will dispense cash to NYC start-ups, as long as they agree to stay within the city for three years. The initiative has an education goal as well and should allow up to 10,000 NYC students and 200 teachers per year to make use of the resources.
"We believe this new land grant can help dreamers and entrepreneurs from around the world come to New York and help us become the world's leading city for technological innovation," Bloomberg said.