NYU Tandon Launches Tech Hub for Military Veterans in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, along with New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, other state officials and Barclays Group Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley, announced the launch of the Veterans Future Lab, a technology start-up hub that provides mentorship and support to early-stage start-ups founded by United States military veterans. The Veterans Future Lab was made possible with the support of Barclays and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC).

In addition to traditional NYU Tandon Future Lab benefits, including access to NYU Tandon faculty, industry leaders, community events, subsidized office space, and entrepreneurship-specific services such as legal, marketing, and design, NYU Tandon will offer full scholarships to veterans who enroll in "A Bridge to Tandon." This intensive program prepares those with non-engineering degrees for master's degree in select fields. Scholarships will be provided by Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon.

Barclays will further the Veterans Future Lab by leveraging the skills and expertise of its senior leaders. Barclays' senior leaders will play an important role for future veteran cohorts, providing mentorship and serving as guest lecturers to share their business experience and subject matter proficiency.

The Veterans Future Lab will be located in Industry City, situated on the waterfront in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. This is the first time NYU Tandon will occupy space at Industry City, expanding the school's Brooklyn footprint and helping to transform the Brooklyn Tech Triangle into the Brooklyn Innovation Coastline. The entrepreneurial hub will offer its tenants desks and conference rooms and will feature a prototyping space available to all tenants of Industry City and members of the Sunset Park community.

"We are enormously proud of the many veterans we have in our community – students, faculty, staff, and alumni – and we've made a strong commitment to support them in the pursuit of their academic, professional, and personal goals," said NYU President Andrew Hamilton. "That's why we are so pleased by the establishment of the Veterans Future Lab, because it links together NYU's veteran-supporting programs with NYU's dynamic entrepreneurial community, assisting members of the armed forces in their professional pursuits after they have left service."

"Historically, veterans have shown an immense entrepreneurial spirit, founding a wide range of successful startups," said NYU Tandon School of Engineering Dean Katepalli R. Sreenivasan. "The Veterans Future Lab was conceived as a way to foster that spirit and encourage veterans to combine technology with skills learned while serving in the military. I look forward to seeing what these exceptional men and women will create. Our experience so far has been amazingly positive."

The Veterans Future Lab joins NYU Tandon's larger entrepreneurial initiative. Launched in 2009, the NYU Tandon Future Labs are changing New York City's technology landscape. The Future Labs have helped companies create more than 1,500 jobs and achieved an estimated local economic impact of $550 million while reaching an estimated total valuation of $1 billion.

"As part of our Shared Growth Ambition, Barclays is committed to driving job creation through our support for entrepreneurs," said Barclays CEO Staley. "Barclays is honored to be partnering with NYU Tandon in making a deeper impact in the community by leveraging our capital, skills, expertise, and mentorship to help enable veteran entrepreneurs to launch and grow their ventures at the Veterans Future Lab."

"New York's veterans have sacrificed tremendously for our state and country, and this innovative new program will open countless new doors for our hometown heroes and help them succeed in today's rapidly changing economy," said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. "The Veterans Future Lab is bringing high-tech training directly to our hard-working veterans and ensuring they have the skills, support and long-term growth opportunities they need to pursue the career of their dreams."

"It's our responsibility to ensure that the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our freedom receive the support they need to be successful when they return from the front lines," said Lieutenant Governor Hochul. "By providing our military veterans with a start-up hub that provides mentorship and support in the early stages of their businesses, we are setting them up with the tools they need to launch and grow into our next entrepreneurial success stories."

"While we have had amazing success with our other entrepreneurial entities, with the Veterans Future Lab we are taking a different approach," said NYU Tandon Vice Dean for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Kurt Becker. "Because the Veterans Future Lab is focused on the tenants and not a specific technology sector, we will be working directly with our veterans to design a program to fit their specific needs. Thanks to the support of New York State and partnership and funding from Barclays, we are able to move into a new location in Industry City where our members can be inspired daily by the significant innovation happening throughout the complex and all along the Brooklyn Innovation Coastline."

"We must ensure that New York State's economic growth and success is accessible to our veteran community," said ESDC President, CEO, and Commissioner Howard Zemsky.  "By removing barriers to economic participation and connecting veterans with the tools, resources, and space for entrepreneurship,  we can give back to our servicemen and servicewomen and ensure that they have opportunities to share in the future they so bravely fought for."

The latest Future Lab is an extension of a pilot veteran entrepreneurial hub and joins Tandon's other veteran-focused initiative, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Training (VET), a 10-week program for veterans and military spouses, which was created through a sponsorship from New York State Assembly Member Joseph Lentol (D-North Brooklyn).

"When the Veterans Entrepreneurship Training Program first started at NYU, the dream was to eventually have a dedicated space," said Assemblyman Lentol. "Thanks to the Governor and Barclays the dedicated space has become a reality. The guidance that NYU Tandon already provides will be expanded upon at the Veterans Future Lab. Our veterans will now truly have wraparound services that will arm them with the tools they need to be successful."

"Veterans are some of our most skilled and best-suited entrepreneurs, and often don't have the resources to help them succeed," said Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Andrew Hoan. "We applaud NYU Tandon, New York State Regional Economic Development Councils, Barclays, and Industry City for recognizing their needs and sending a message that Kings County is the veterans' entrepreneurship capital of America. We are thrilled to see these former servicemen and servicewomen make a new base on Brooklyn's Innovation Coastline."

"NYU Tandon has helped me on my entrepreneurial journey by opening doors to a network of talented and helpful people. These people continue to provide guidance, feedback and resources on how to best succeed with my own company," said the founder of Frontier7 and graduate of Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Tim Lawton. "It is this type of help that is invaluable and necessary for myself and other veterans to succeed."

Veterans Future Lab is now accepting applications. Interested parties can find out more at http://engineering.nyu.edu/business/future-labs/veteran-support.

About the NYU Tandon School of Engineering Future Labs
NYU Tandon created one of the first technology incubators in New York City in 2009 with support from the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the first cleantech incubator in New York City, funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Today, the Future Labs support a wide variety of entrepreneurial outreach programs in addition to more than 40 startup companies in three locations: a data-focused incubator on SoHo's Varick Street, another in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn focused on digital technology, and a third in Downtown Brooklyn's MetroTech Center with a focus on clean-energy technology. To date, 74 companies have graduated from the program, 15 through acquisition, and they have generated some 1,500 jobs and an estimated economic impact of $500 million. Notable portfolio companies include CB insights, Clarifai, Bounce Exchange, Honest Buildings, and United Wind. For more information visit http://engineering.nyu.edu/business/future-labs.

About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering
The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, the country's largest private research university, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu.

About Barclays
Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US. With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 85,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.home.barclays.

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