NJIT in the News

NJIT Associate Vice President of Technology Development Judith Sheft highlighted today contributions to invention and innovation made in New Jersey for more than a century by NJIT. She was among the featured speakers, which included Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, at a press conference to announce a new corporate and higher education coalition focused on innovation.

“The Enterprise Development Center (EDC) at NJIT is still growing rapidly to be the largest high-tech business incubator in the USA with 95 portfolio companies, despite the tough economy! Entrepreneurs and individual initiatives in the EDC are working to help NJ solve economic growth problems and make NJ a state leading in technology development and the right place to live and work!,” said Jerry Creighton Sr., EDC Executive Director.

Aron Spencer, PhD, an assistant professor in the School of Management at NJIT, will be the instructor and facilitator for the Advance Invention 2 Venture (AI2V) Venture Acceleration Bootcamp, May 18 through May 21, 2010 in NJIT's Enterprise Development Center III, 211 Warren St., Room 407. To register, click here. For additional details, call Judith Sheft at 973-596-5825 or email sheft@njit.edu.

Sandi Webster and Peggy McHale, founding directors of Consultants 2 Go, will discuss "Empowering Women through Entrepreneurship: Practical Tips to Get You Started" at the Albert Dorman Honors College Colloquium Series on March 24, 2:30-4 p.m. in the Campus Center Atrium. Judith Sheft, associate vice president for technology development at NJIT, will join Webster and McHale for the panel discussion. 

Donald H. Sebastian, interim provost and senior vice president for research and development and Judith Sheft, associate vice president for technology development, were awarded the title of Honorary Professor of the Faculty of Commerce and International Relations by the Universidad Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (UIGV) in Lima, Peru. They were invited by Daniel Jara on behalf of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of NJ (SHCC), which co-hosted the First USA-Peru Trade & Investment Forum Peruvian Products Exhibition. The event marked the beginning of an international initiative designed to help bring awareness as well as to showcase selected products of Peru, international trade opportunities, and the information necessary to trade internationally to SHCC members. “The objective is for NJIT to form a relationship with UIGV to help them develop incubation and extension programs that can move the country’s economy from one of exporting raw materials to one that captures more of the value chain,” said Sebastian. 

A drug to stop bleeding during a brain injury and a bed that will prevent bedsores are among the scientific discoveries at NJIT that received earlier this week more than a million dollars in funding from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology.

Aron Spencer, PhD, an assistant professor in NJIT's School of Management will be the program facilitator at the Venture Acceleration Workshop, an intensive four-day program designed for technology-based businesses focusing on licensing or commercializing technology-based products or services. The workshop will be held on four consecutive Saturdays: Sept. 26, Oct. 3, Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 at Seton Hall University. By the end of this four-day session, participants will have a complete commercialization plan and be able to deliver a pitch-ready PowerPoint presentation to investors and/or strategic partners. Registration fee is $250 and scholarships are available. To qualify, participants must live, work or operate a business in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union or Warren counties in NJ. Class size is limited to 25 participants. For additional details, call Judith Sheft at 973-596-5825 or email sheft@njit.edu. Click here to register.

Judith Sheft, of Westfield, associate vice president, technology development, in the office of research and development, received the Excellence in Service Award at NJIT’s University Convocation, an annual celebration held on Sept. 2, 2009.  

Aron Spencer, PhD, an assistant professor in NJIT's School of Management will be the program facilitator at the Venture Acceleration Workshop, an intensive four-day program designed for technology-based businesses focusing on licensing or commercializing technology-based products or services. The workshop will be held on four consecutive Saturdays: Sept. 26, Oct. 3, Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 at Seton Hall University. By the end of this four-day session, participants will have a complete commercialization plan and be able to deliver a pitch-ready PowerPoint presentation to investors and/or strategic partners. Registration fee is $250 and scholarships are available. To qualify, participants must live, work or operate a business in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union or Warren counties in NJ. Class size is limited to 25 participants. For additional details, call Judith Sheft at 973-596-5825 or email sheft@njit.edu. Click here to register.

NJIT marks the start of the new school year on September 2, 2009 with University Convocation, an annual celebration and awards ceremony.  The event, which recognizes the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff, will be held at 3 p.m., in the Jim Wise Theatre in Kupfrian Hall on the NJIT campus. A reception follows.

The New Jersey Center for Innovation Acceleration, a joint initiative of the NJIT School of Management and the NJIT Enterprise Development Center (EDC), will offer a series of business planning and financial modeling courses for entrepreneurs funded by North Jersey Partners. 

NJIT's Center for Innovation Acceleration and North Jersey Partners WIRED will host several seminars and certification programs. The Advanced Invention 2 Venture (AI2V) workshop will be held on June 8-11, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., in the Enterprise Development Center III, Rm. 407. Click here to register (click on June 8-11 link). Contact: sheft@njit.edu or call 973-596-5825. In addition, The New Jersey Center for Innovation and The Entrepreneurs Group will present "Build Your Financial Model and Develop Cash Management/Valuation Skills," a program consisting of two hands-on and intensive workshops to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs in raising capital. For more information as well as dates and locations, click here. 

Interested in starting your own business? Then don’t miss an upcoming round-table discussion at NJIT on March 23, 2009 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Campus Center Atrium. 

“Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet” is the inspirational theme of a plethora of intriguing events this month at NJIT to celebrate Women’s History Month. Join NJIT for activities ranging from green, money-saving tips to a lecture from a Harvard sustainability guru about saving the planet. Except where noted, all events are free and open to the public. For further information, please contact: Talina Knox at 973-642-4671 or view the calendar.

More than 300 people and 30 companies are expected to attend the sixth annual biomedical engineering showcase and career fair on March 13, 2009 at NJIT. The annual event, to be held from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in NJIT’s Campus Center, unites industry professionals and academics interested in the applied-life sciences.   

Have a great idea or invention but don’t know where to turn? Then consider yourself a candidate for an upcoming day of four workshops for first-time entrepreneurs sponsored by the NJIT Enterprise Development Center and the Alumni Association of NJIT.

NJIT’s Office of Technology Development is hosting an 11-week series of webinars focused on commercialization of research (life science and engineering-based technology), on Wednesdays beginning Jan. 14–March 25, 1-2:30 p.m. in the Guttenberg Information Technologies Center 1403. Co-organized by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer, the course will discuss the practical business and legal issues that researchers need to understand to commercialize their research. Contact Judith Sheft, Associate Vice President Technology Development at 973-596-5825; sheft@njit.edu.           

Judith Sheft, associate vice president for technology development at NJIT, has been awarded funds from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology to assist faculty researchers with the most promising patentable inventions with funding grants of up to $50,000. 

The New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology has awarded almost $100,000 as part of its SBIR bridge grant program to two start-up companies based in NJIT’s high technology business incubator. Applechem Inc. and Lenterra, located in NJIT’s Enterprise Development Center (EDC), each received Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) bridge grants.

NJIT's Office of Technology Development and the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) along with North Jersey WIRED will host an Advanced Invention to Venture Workshop on June 9-12, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the EDC, 211 Warren St., Newark. An optional SBIR Proposal Writing workshop will be held on June 13. Scholarships are available for NJIT faculty and students. Contact: Judith Sheft at  NJIT's Office of Technology Development at x5825.

Judith Sheft, associate vice president of technology development at NJIT, explains technology transfer and commercialization within New Jersey's universities and its importance for the growth of our economy in a new video featured in the May issue of NJ Entrepreneur.com.

NJIT’s Enterprise Development Center (EDC) has given startups an edge since 1988.  Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, this high-tech business incubator housed at NJIT is open to early-stage companies that have, or will have, a proprietary technology as a significant source of revenue.

More than 300 people and 30 companies are expected to attend the Fourth Annual Biomedical Engineering Showcase and Career Fair on March 9 at NJIT. The event, to be held from 7:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m. in NJIT’s Campus Center, unites industry professionals and academics interested in the applied-life sciences.

Don’t give up, network and pay attention to detail, numbered among the many good ideas offered to women inventors by Judith Sheft, assistant vice president, technology development at NJIT. Sheft spoke at a day-long conference held on Oct. 28 at Kean University.

NJIT's College of Computing Sciences (CCS) will offer a series of free seminars and workshops on a wide range of market-driven skills not usually covered by the academic curriculum. Faculty, students, external businesses and those interested in acquiring practical knowledge, career development and real-world problem-solving skills are invited to participate. Judith Sheft, assistant vice president, technology development, NJIT; Nicole S. Percel, Esq., coordinator, patents and licensing, NJIT; and Dave M. McConoughey, Esq. will speak on the topic of intellectual property and commercialization on Sept. 21, 4-6 p.m. in the Guttenberg Information Technologies Center, Room 1100. Contact: Osama Eljibiri, oe2@njit.edu.