By Julie Chan, Senior Project Manager, Center for Economic Transformation

Mayor Bloomberg’s State of the City address last week made it clear: Investing in the education of New York City’s young people, especially in technology, is critical to our City’s future.

New York City has become a vibrant launching ground for technology startups and entrepreneurs, with recent successes such as Tumblr, ZocDoc, Foursquare, and Etsy. However, the City still faces challenges in attracting and retaining technology and engineering talent to support or start new companies. In the past year, NYCEDC has launched initiatives to address this, including Tech Draft to recruit science and engineering talent from top universities across the nation to work at NYC startups, as well as forming a historic partnership with Cornell University and the Technion to build a new applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island. At the same time, we recognize the need to invest in homegrown talent and increase opportunities in tech entrepreneurship among the City’s younger generation.

We are pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for NYC Next Generation Tech Challenge, an entrepreneurship and technology business plan competition and mentorship program. Working with the NYC Department of Education, NYC Next Generation Tech Challenge will serve high school students with a focus on disadvantaged students. The program will consist of:

• A youth team business plan competition
• Educational workshops and exposure to technology applications across industries
• Mentorship from local tech professionals and university students

We are seeking proposals to develop and administer a pilot program by Summer/Fall 2012. Proposals are due to NYCEDC on Tuesday, February 14th by 4:00 pm.

For more details, download the RFP. Please share this with individuals or organizations you know who may be interested!