The Cradle of Aviation was selected as one of the lead organizations to launch the Long Island STEM Hub (which is a part of The Empire State STEM Learning Network) along with The U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Empire State STEM Learning Network initiative is part of a national movement with a consortium of states that has received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Battelle, and the AT&T Foundation. The initiative aims to build the capacity of local communities to create and institute innovative and sustainable STEM schools, policies, programs, platforms, and partnerships to improve the college- and career-readiness of all students. Through its collaboration with the statewide network, Long Island will benefit from the experiences of other STEM Hubs in New York and other states.

Together the Long Island STEM Hub will develop a cohesive group of resources for local businesses, school districts, students, parents, teachers, universities, and worker-training operations to address STEM workforce needs in the region. The hub will support the coordination of local resources, including numerous partners who have already pledged their support for the initiative, to provide enhanced STEM learning opportunities and real-world STEM work experience training for students, teachers and unemployed/underemployed or displaced workers, with the end goal of significantly boosting the Island’s technical workforce.

Long Island has many businesses, as well as educational and scientific institutions, that need a technical workforce. The goal of the STEM Hub is to create a pipeline of STEM-literate students, with a competitive edge, who can compete in the local workplace. By making connections early on with business, students can identify career opportunities and help reverse the oft cited ‘brain drain’ taking place on Long Island. The Cradle of Aviation believes that through partnerships, we can find ways to enable the business community to interact efficiently and effectively with academia and not-for-profit providers of STEM training to help boost national and regional development.

In fact, an alliance of technology and business advocates has envisioned a concept -“The Thought Box” which could potentially vault Long Island into the entrepreneurial ranks of San Diego and Silicon Valley. The Thought Box 1 project received a $3 million state economic development grant in December for construction of a business incubator to draw technology start-up companies and their employees to the Island. To that end, many exciting job developments have been unfolding on Long Island such as satellite technology and green energy, all of which have spun off from the old days of the island’s aviation and defense industry and are reflected in our STEM initiatives.

Regional Industry Councils (RICs) are subsets of the Long Island STEM Hub partners who are committed to working together to develop a strong capable workforce for the Long Island industry as a whole and within their particular sector.

Regional Industry Councils

• Healthcare and Life Science
• Information Technology
• Energy and Environment
• Homeland Security
• Aviation
• Global Business
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Engineering

Are you a company or an academic institution? Click here for more information and to join a local council.