New Jersey Innovation Institute signs on to SciTech Scity

Matthew Fazelpoor//May 10, 2024//

SciTech Scity will include $450 million of new construction: Edge Works, an eight-story business-creation center with laboratories, R&D spaces, office suites, co-working spaces, a tech exhibition gallery, and a state-of-the-art conference center; Scholars Village, 500 apartments built and operated by Alpine Residential for innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and other tech-forward individuals and families; Liberty Science Center High School, a new public magnet STEM high school built by the Hudson County Improvement Authority and operated by the Hudson County Schools of Technology; and Public Commons, three acres of outdoor space for art installations, food trucks, performances, farmers markets, science festivals, and maker fairs.

SciTech Scity will include $450 million of new construction: Edge Works, an eight-story business-creation center; Scholars Village, 500 apartments built and operated by Alpine Residential for innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and others; Liberty Science Center High School, a new public magnet STEM high school built by the Hudson County Improvement Authority and operated by the Hudson County Schools of Technology; and Public Commons, three acres of outdoor space. - SCITECH SCITY

Matthew Fazelpoor//May 10, 2024//

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The highly anticipated SciTech Scity project at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City marked another major development May 9, as the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) joined the Healthcare Innovation Engine as a Lead Innovation Partner.

NJII, a New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) corporation and nonprofit headquartered in Newark, joins other notable partners signed onto the project touted as the “Science City of Tomorrow.” Those participants include RWJ Barnabas Health, Bristol Myers Squibb, EY, Nokia Bell Labs and Sheba Medical Center in Israel.

When complete, SciTech Scity will emerge as a 30-acre innovation campus aimed at using science and technology to address humanity’s greatest challenges – from inadequate health care to climate change. The comprehensive, multidisciplinary effort seeks to advance the use of new digital home health technologies to pioneer and spearhead new and more cost-effective methods of delivering care for underserved New Jersey communities and beyond. It also aims to elevate startups working on some health care’s biggest problems.

In February, SciTech Scity hosted the inaugural meeting of the Healthcare Innovation Engine – bringing together leaders and stakeholders.

Paul Hoffman pictured here, president and CEO, Liberty Science Center, speaks at the Healthcare Innovation Engine at SciTech Scity's first meeting Feb. 29, 2024, at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. - PROVIDED BY LIBERTY SCIENCE CENTER — Paul Hoffman, president and CEO, Liberty Science Center, speaks at the Healthcare Innovation Engine at SciTech Scity’s first meeting Feb. 29, 2024, at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. – PROVIDED BY LIBERTY SCIENCE CENTER

Liberty Science Center president and CEO Paul Hoffman has driven the SciTech Scity concept and vision. He describes NJII as the perfect partner. Hoffman pointed to its leadership in health care interoperability and work commercializing technologies and accelerating startups.

NJII was founded with a goal of fostering collaboration between academia and industry – bringing to bear the technological and intellectual resources of NJIT.

Some of NJII’s notable work includes:

Its health care division is the state-designated entity responsible for operating and managing the New Jersey Health Information Network on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services;
Partnered with DHS for the Substance Use Disorder Promoting Interoperability Program;
Helping RWJBarnabas Health participate in promoting statewide interoperability;
Offers technical and strategic services for providers and health systems in New Jersey supporting Merit-based Incentive Pay System and Quality Improvement Programs;
Launched the Merck Digital Sciences Studio in collaboration with Merck & Co. Inc. – supporting early-stage biomedical startups with direct investment.

“New Jersey Innovation Institute has been a leader in healthcare transformation in the State of New Jersey,” said Alex Richter, executive director and head of SciTech Scity’s Innovation Hub. “We are thrilled to embark on this journey alongside NJII as they’ve demonstrated a shared commitment to driving innovation in healthcare and bringing early-stage technologies to market.”

“We are excited to partner with SciTech Scity’s Healthcare Innovation Engine,” said Jennifer D’Angelo, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Healthcare Division at NJII. “The partnership marks a pivotal moment for NJII as we continue our mission to drive innovation in healthcare and unlock new opportunities to shape a brighter future for patients and providers.”