With a burgeoning biomedical sector, Westchester County finds itself lacking in schools offering programs for much-needed engineers to supplement the industry”™s ranks.
To help overcome this shortcoming, the Westchester County Association is conducting a study to determine the viability of bringing an engineering program at the collegiate level to the county. The study, which began earlier this month, is being guided by a special 10-person committee with engineering, construction, legal, medical and marketing backgrounds. It would tap an existing university to create a branch school in the county, similar to Fordham”™s West Harrison campus and New York Universitiy”™s campus in Purchase.
The heavy concentration of biomedical companies in the county, WCA President Marissa Brett said, makes Westchester an ideal candidate for such a program. Brett said an engineering program would create a “pipeline” to tech giants like IBM and Regeneron, which are headquartered in Armonk and Greenburgh.
Though Westchester boasts more than 20 centers for higher education, Brett said there are currently 12 schools outside the county the committee is looking at as possible candidates for the program. She declined to specify.
Earlier this year, the WCA announced the formation of the Hudson Valley Workforce Academy, which aims to fill the more than 2,500 job vacancies in the health, technology and business sectors in the region.
“The object of the feasibility study is to continue to make the metropolitan New York region highly attractive to startup and growth industries, and to spur the economic vitality of Westchester County,” Brett said. “In Westchester we have the space, the demand and the commitment to be more competitive.”
The WCA enlisted the help of Mercy College”™s Strategic Consulting Institute to assist in conducting the survey. The institute, whose main goal is to allow graduate students to perform consulting work for businesses, municipalities and nonprofits, named former IBM vice president and current Mercy accounting professor Gary Bernstein as the project director and delegated five MBA students in Mercy”™s School of Business to complete the study. The team began the project in the early spring and worked on average about five hours per week for two to three months, Bernstein said.
Main criteria the team analyzed were the size of the program, how long it has existed, types of degrees offered and its current location. Though Brett said the WCA is currently looking at a dozen schools, Bernstein said the institute narrowed the list to five candidates.
“There is a need for engineering in the area, especially in particular with biomedical because a lot of medical research going on,” Bernstein said. “There are a lot of projects being considered in the future.”
“It”™s a long-term project,” he said. “You don”™t just put up a sign that says ”˜Engineering School Wanted.”™”
The feasibility study is the second phase of the project. During the past two years, Brett said the WCA has had “dozens” of preliminary conversations with county government, business and real estate representatives to get the project off the ground. The next step is for the WCA to make a recommendation.
Brett said it was too early to speculate whether the program would be offered at the undergraduate or graduate level.
The next phase of the study will be conducted through research, interviews, meetings and polls and collaborations with the WCA Health Consortium and the higher education community. It is not expected to be completed for several months.
Anthony Nester, an associate with Armonk-based John Meyer Consulting PC, said that there is a host of projects awaiting the county both now and in the future.
“There is definitely a need for engineering in the area ”” in particular biomedical because there is a lot of medical research going on,” Nester said.
The study coincides with The Blueprint for Westchester, WCA”™s initiative to accelerate Westchester”™s economic development. Earlier in the month, the WCA held “Health Tech ”™15: Fueling Innovation in Westchester,” a conference featuring innovators from the health technology industry.
Much needed – very glad to hear about this. There is a void in the Valley for applied engineering.