Priority 4: Engaged Community
NJIT Makes Opportunities For Our Communities.
NJIT is the nexus of many communities, including those of our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and our home city of Newark. In this role, NJIT is poised to play a key role as an indispensable partner to the City of Newark and the State of New Jersey while also enhancing our national and global influence. By forging vital connections that enhance our engagement with our communities, we will expand our role as a key contributor to student and alumni upward socio-economic mobility. We will contribute to Newark’s growth and well-being by developing initiatives that address local challenges and opportunities. We will focus our collaborations with state agencies and organizations to create a mutual reliance that underscores our value as a public research university, a powerhouse of workforce development, and a driver of socio-economic progress. We will also achieve national and global impacts by sharing our research, influencing policy, and engaging in beneficial partnerships.
KEY METRICS
- Number of undergraduate students from Newark and New Jersey
- Number of students participating in programs offered by the Center for Pre-College Programs
- NJIT’s economic impact on New Jersey
- Number of corporate partnerships and resulting funding
- Alumni engagement rate and satisfaction
NJIT will strengthen its ties with Newark, industry and government. Strategic efforts will enhance efficiencies in expanding and managing community engagement, particularly through the Center for Pre-College Programs. New investments will support the enrollment of more Newark students at NJIT, offering them an excellent ROI through an education recognized for student upward socio-economic mobility.
NJIT will establish an Innovation Nexus for the greater Newark region and the surrounding neighborhoods to sustain a vibrant and thriving community. By fully engaging all members of the NJIT community, we will foster a dynamic university culture that partners with key industries to strengthen and expand our impact globally.
NJIT will also invest time, talent, and treasure to advance the university’s economic impact through engagement and workforce development.
ACTIONS:
Apply the expertise of NJIT and NJII to develop a consulting service model that can offer an alternative method for revenue generation while also strengthening relationships with external entities including corporations, hospitals, schools, and local community groups.
Increase awareness of NJIT and its Innovation Nexus by showcasing the university’s contributions to the region, highlighting successful external partnerships, and identifying new opportunities for collaborations and engagement.
Enhance the reach of the Innovation Nexus through an advisory board that engages with government, business, and cultural allies to ensure that the university’s initiatives align with local and state priorities and needs.
Develop mixed-use and community-supporting real estate through partnerships contributing to quality of life in the surrounding area.
NJIT will promote civic responsibility in local, regional, national, and global communities to which we belong by infusing community engagement into and throughout all aspects of the innovative education we deliver, the research we conduct, the economic development we drive and the service we provide to our communities and society. We will commit to promoting, prioritizing and practicing the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in partnership and reciprocity.
ACTIONS:
Centralize the organization of civic and community engagement activities to facilitate collaborative projects that provide real-world experiences for students and increase interactions and knowledge sharing between university experts and local community members.
Promote fair and inclusive growth in the local economy by expanding opportunities for the development of minority-owned businesses, improving the skills of the local workforce, and prioritizing hiring and procurement from businesses and residents within the community.
NJIT will partner with members of our broader communities to collaborate, design, and define how we work together to remove barriers and support the greater good. We will develop equitable partnerships, advocate for the strengthening of our collective human capital, and champion diverse, multilayered, mutually beneficial partnerships and activities that sustain continuing education, collaboratively sponsored research, talent development and recruitment, sponsorships, and philanthropy.
ACTIONS:
Build local talent pipelines with K-12 schools, community colleges and workforce programs to provide a well-prepared local talent pool and increase accessibility to workforce training and educational programs for community members.
Develop relationships with local, state and federal government stakeholders to align community initiatives with broader policy goals.
Recruit local Newark residents as students and employees to increase representation of local residents among these constituencies.
Develop a strategic approach to increasing community involvement through sustained civic engagement to strengthen connections between the Newark community and NJIT.
Create opportunities for true engagement with the Newark community to promote belonging and a sense of unity with the community.