City Commits to Expanding Successful Life Sciences Internship Program Delivering Opportunities to Hundreds of Students

Investments in Talent and Infrastructure within the Next 10-15 Years Will Lead To 40,000 New Jobs in the Life Sciences Field

The City Has Released a Request for Proposals for an Organization to Continue Expanding, Developing, and Managing Its Lifesci NYC Internships Program

NEW, YORK—New York Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced the City is expanding its LifeSci NYC Internship Program, which continues to help build an equitable talent pipeline for a rapidly growing life sciences industry. The city has released a Request For Proposals (RFP) for an organization to continue developing the program and managing the internships, which has resulted in more than 400 student placements in the first four years of the program, a majority of whom have been women or people of color.

The life sciences sector encompasses the research and development behind new medicines, new medical devices, cutting edge therapies, innovations in sustainability, and other products to help treat people who are sick and improve the lives and care of New Yorkers.

“Growing our LifeSci NYC Internship program means more leading companies across both life sciences and healthcare will build a deeper bench of young innovators while diversifying their workforce. This program is emblematic of Mayor Adams’ commitment to supporting growth in key sectors of our economy while creating meaningful opportunities for our city’s young people,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer.

“In his Blueprint for NYC’s economic recovery, Mayor Adams is focused on the importance of growing key sectors like life sciences while also ensuring a more equitable approach to workforce development and entrepreneurship,” said NYCEDC President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “EDC is proud of its role in expanding opportunity to diverse talent in the life sciences field and is looking forward to expanding its reach in the coming years.”

The goal of the LifeSci NYC Internship program is to prepare tens of thousands of New York City’s students from diverse backgrounds for good-paying jobs in the life sciences’ field and accelerate the growth of the industry as outlined in the Mayor’s economic blueprint released this month. The LifeSci NYC Internship Program is backed by a City investment of $5 million. In 2021, the program saw its greatest success with nearly 2,400 student applicants after expanding from a summer internship program to year-round opportunities.

“COVID-19 has had devastating consequences for Queens and the entire City, but we can prevent feature health emergencies from having a similar impact by investing now in life-saving research and innovation, all while creating the jobs of tomorrow,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “The LifeSci NYC Internship Program will go a long way toward placing our City and its youngest generation of leaders at the forefront of the life sciences and in pandemic prevention and preparedness. With equity and access at the forefront, we must continue to create an environment across Queens for this critical sector, and those who will lead it, to soar.”

“As a global city with incredible influence, we should be investing in not just our future, but the future of our world through innovative pipelines like NYCEDC’s LifeSci NYC internship Program,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “But this internship program is more than just fostering innovations that can lead to new life-saving medical treatments or future pandemic prevention. Programs like these also encourage job creation within our city, as opposed to outsourcing or relying on others to help combat diseases. Thank you, NYCEDC, for thinking about our city’s future.”

“Investment into our communities starts with investing in our youth, and providing internships in Life Sciences will be an innovative way to prepare our young people for the workforce, while making groundbreaking contributions to improve the life and care of all New Yorkers,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “I applaud NYCEDC for this innovative program that has the potential to change the way we prepare our students for a wide range of industry career opportunities here in the Bronx, and across the entire City.”

“This commitment to New York City's life sciences sector is an important investment in our recovery and the careers of tens of thousands of young people,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “An expansion of the LifeSci NYC Internship Program will keep our city at the cutting edge of life-saving technology and treatments and will prepare the next generation of innovators to confront future health challenges. We must continue to encourage job growth and innovation that centers equity and paves the way for much-needed diversity in the life sciences sector.”

“New Yorkers are in the midst of the largest public health crisis of our lifetime. Now more than ever, we need Life Science professionals who are not only capable but knowledgeable enough to help pull our residents out of this pandemic,” said NYC Council Member and Health Chair Lynn Schulman. “As the Chair of the NYC Council Health Committee, it is imperative that not only I but all my colleagues in the Council continue supporting projects such as the LifeSci Internship Program as it continues to create careers in the expanding field of Life Sciences within New York City.”

“As Chair of the Economic Development Committee I am happy to see that a key part of the Mayor’s Blueprint for Economic Development, investment in the Life Science industry, has come into fruition. NYCEDC has already committed over $220 million to create 40,000 jobs throughout the next 10 years,” said NYC Council Member Amanda Farías. “Creating career and employment pathways is essential to our recovering economy and investing in the continuation of successful internship programs helps us do that. This initiative has already extended nearly 50 percent of interns to full-time jobs for college or graduate students. Our City must follow the example of NYCEDC and prioritize making effective and valuable job pipelines for young people. Investing in the future of our workforce now, helps pave a path toward a more equitable economy that benefits all New Yorkers.”

Through the RFP, the LifeSci NYC Internship Program operator would be tasked with recruiting students and host companies in the City, along with organizing enrichment programming and activities for applicants and interns, over the next three years. The internship program, which began in 2017 has been extremely successful, placing over 440 students from New York City or who attended City-based colleges or universities at more than 120 leading life science companies. Applicants have also been from all five boroughs with the largest percentage of students coming from City University of New York (CUNY).

The internship program prepares students for a wide range of industry career opportunities including science, management, and tech positions. In 2021, the program saw student interns placed at pharmaceutical and biotech companies, digital health companies, research organizations, and various startups. To date, nearly 50 percent of internships were extended or made full-time jobs for college or graduate students.

The LifeSci NYC Internship Program is part of the City’s $1 billion initiative to support the creation of 40,000 jobs over the next 10-15 years, which also includes efforts to expand commercial lab space and support facilities in spurring new research that translates to new companies, jobs, medicines, and advanced technologies. NYCEDC, which oversees the LifeSci NYC initiative has made several key investments, including:

• $145 million to build incubators and space for companies at Deerfield’s The CURE and at Innolabs in Long Island City
• $50 million to BioBAT, Inc., who offers research and manufacturing space to biotechnology and related companies in Brooklyn
• $29 million to research infrastructure grants awarded to Columbia University, Montefiore-Einstein, the New York Stem Cell Foundation and Rockefeller University
• $5 million to launch Biolabs@NYULangone, one of six incubators now in the city that yield approximately 150 start-up companies every two to three years

About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that creates shared prosperity across New York City by strengthening neighborhoods and creating good jobs. We work with and for communities to bring emerging industries to New York City; develop spaces and facilities for businesses; empower New Yorkers through training and skill-building; and invest in sustainable and innovative projects that make the city a great place to live and work. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.