Griffiss Institute, Le Moyne College sign agreement for collaboration in talent, technology development

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Le Moyne College is now the 10th member of the Griffiss Institute’s Innovare Alliance as both organizations seek to “foster collaborative talent and technology development.”

The partnership aims to expand access to high-quality educational, training, research, and entrepreneurial opportunities in the communities they serve, while “leveraging interorganizational synergies” among upstate New York’s academic, industrial, and defense sectors, per a news release about the partnership.

Both Griffiss Institute and Le Moyne College signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday morning.

The Innovare Alliance is an initiative that seeks to advance technical and professional development disciplines and to “nurture a skilled workforce to drive growth and prosperity in the region.”

Linda LeMura, president of Le Moyne College, expressed her excitement about the partnership. “At Le Moyne, we believe in providing our students with the best of all worlds — a values-based academic program grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, combined with technical training and essential skills,” LeMura said in a news release. “Joining the Innovare Alliance will offer unprecedented experiential learning and venture development opportunities to our faculty, staff, students and alumni, empowering them to thrive in their chosen fields.”

The Innovare Alliance is a consortium of nine entities, including Griffiss Institute; Air Force Research Laboratory/Information Directorate (AFRL/RI); Oneida County; the City of Rome; NYSTEC; State University of New York; Central New York Defense Alliance; Rochester Institute of Technology; and Binghamton University that is focused on accelerating the development and deployment of emerging technologies for national defense and commercial markets.

Heather Hage, president and CEO of Griffiss Institute, welcomed Le Moyne to the Innovare Alliance with “enthusiasm.”

“This MoU represents a significant step in our mission to drive innovation and collaboration,” Hage said in the release. “Together with our partners, we will explore new and innovative techniques in education and research, with a special focus on critical areas such as cybersecurity, quantum information sciences, machine learning and autonomous systems. Through co-designed programs, we aim to prepare the future workforce to tackle the challenges of our rapidly evolving world.”