Strengthening its bid to build a tech campus on Roosevelt Island, Cornell University announced Tuesday that it has teamed up with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, a world powerhouse in turning scientific research into start-up companies.
The proposed Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute, a 50-50 collaboration between the schools, would create a graduate program focused on commercialization in areas where the city has a competitive advantage, such as mobile and social technology, health care, the built environment and finance.
The schools would start a new full-scale campus beginning in 2012, either in leased space or existing Cornell facilities in the city. The Roosevelt Island campus would eventually grow to more than 2 million square feet, accommodating some 2,000 graduate students and 250 faculty members.
“I believe in this case, one plus one equals more than two,” said Technion President Peretz Lavie. “We can educate graduate students in engineering in such as way that they will revolutionize the high-tech industry in New York like we did in Israel over the last two decades.”
Students would be required to take courses that prepare them to be entrepreneurs and early-stage investors, and interdisciplinary hubs would provide both technical knowhow and expertise in the city's key industries. At first, they would receive Cornell degrees, but once Technion obtained proper state approvals, students could pursue dual degrees.
Both schools would participate in the design of the campus, but Cornell would own it and provide all the capital dollars for an endeavor that is expected cost well in excess of $1 billion.
“We were looking for a partner who would bring complementary strengths,” said Cornell President David Skorton. “Technion is not only a fine academic institution, but they are superbly qualified and experienced in terms of turning scientific work into tangible economic benefits.”
Cornell is competing with Stanford University for land on Roosevelt Island in a race that Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes will help the city usurp Silicon Valley as a world leader in high-tech innovation. Stanford helped to seed the tech hub surrounding its Palo Alto campus, but now Cornell has on its side the institution that has created the highest concentration of start-up companies anywhere outside of the Valley.
Technion graduates head 59 of 121 Israeli companies on the NASDAQ, with a combined market value of over $28 billion. Some 75% of Israeli engineers are Technion graduates, as are 70% of the country's start-up founders. Its campus, in Haifa, is comprised of 19 schools and 12,000 students and is surrounded by some of the world's biggest names in technology. Intel, Qualcomm, Microsoft, IBM, Applied Materials, Yahoo and Google all have offices within minutes of the Technion campus.
“I don't think it would be hyperbolic to describe an economic miracle in Israel based on high tech,” Mr. Skorton said. “And Technion has been a major force in Israel becoming home to such a great concentration of tech companies.”
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