By GREGORY ZELLER //
The New York Institute of Technology will create new professional onramps for computer science students with help from an old friend of Long Island innovation.
Peter Goldsmith, founder of the nonprofit Long Island Software & Technology Network and a New York Tech adjunct assistant professor, will coordinate new undergraduate cooperative education tracks in computer science and information technology in New York Tech’s College of Engineering and Computing Science.
The Old Westbury- and Manhattan-based institute first announced in February 2021 that Goldsmith and LISTnet President Paul Trapani were joining the faculty as co-instructors of Technology Business Startup Practices, a new course offering.
The co-op programs are designed to provide “experiential education,” allowing students to alternate between classroom study and professional employment directly related to their academic field. They will work in tandem with New York Tech’s network of industry and corporate connections – or, at least to start, through Goldsmith’s network of industry and corporate connections.
Peter Goldsmith: New co-opportunity.
The adjunct assistant professor has secured commitments from several regional technology companies – many are represented on New York Tech’s inaugural Co-Op Advisory Board – and is fast at work forming alliances with other employers who can provide hands-on skill development and other learning experiences.
Those employers will also enjoy access to what Goldsmith called “a secure and stable pool of highly qualified and talented student workers who have the potential to transition to permanent employment after graduation,” creating a win-win for the students and the regional high-tech workforce.
College of Engineering and Computing Sciences Dean Babak Beheshti said the new co-op programs are “in keeping with New York Tech’s mission to provide career-oriented professional education and access to opportunity for all qualified students.”
The first co-op cohorts are slated to begin this summer, with the initial program capped at 15 students. Participating students will be required to remain employed at New York Tech partner companies for at least 24 weeks (through the Fall 2022 semester).
After launching with the computer science and information technology co-ops, the institution “expects to extend co-op offerings to students in all of its undergraduate programs,” New York Tech said in a statement.
“Our co-op offering provides another way to enable students to prepare for the job market while pursuing their undergraduate degrees,” Beheshti said Wednesday. “Our co-op students can prepare for the culture and professional conduct required to be productive in the work environment, learn about … successful job-search practices, gain invaluable work experience in their fields of study and earn income while employed in their co-op positions.”
