Cornell’s New Applied Science Campus and the Future of Tech in NY

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Following the city’s announcement on Monday that Cornell will be receiving funding and property on Roosevelt Island to build an applied science campus in NY, the university expressed eagerness in jump-starting the initiative by making preparations to begin offering classes in fall 2012, an entire year before the 2 million square foot site can even be completed. The campus will be aimed at attracting tech-minded individuals and innovation in new technology/engineering will be the university’s primary focus, an article in Wired emphasizes.

The decision for Cornell to have a tangible presence in NY comes after Stanford’s recent withdraw from the competition. As an institution, Stanford simply doesn’t require a presence in NY as Cornell does, Wired avows. Its longstanding ties to Silicon Valley already help it attract students, businesses and investors looking to build the next Google. Cornell may have comparable notoriety, but with its main campus in Central NY,  it doesn’t have the same kind of reputation, Wired maintains.

A brand new university presence like Cornell’s will have palpable economic benefits for the city itself. Wired speculates that real estate will flourish, creating employment, capital development, and attracting new talent to the region, which is, of course, entirely independent of the degree to which the intersection of original research, young entrepreneurs and venture capital can create new NY-based businesses and industry. A new campus provides the opportunity to disseminate the wealth within the metropolis;  all of NY may feel rejuvenated because of the university’s new presence, and could truly hone its own as a result of the many positive repercussions.

Wired