Leading Organization:
Bergen Community College
Who We Are
New Jersey North EcosySTEM (NJ-NEST), led by Bergen Community College, is dedicated to building a community of partners and collaborators to promote educational initiatives and opportunities to students in STEM. Through building and maintaining relationships with K-12 districts, government agencies, higher education institutions, as well as public and private sector organizations, NJ-NEST promotes a collaborative approach to building STEM-focused pathways from K-12 to higher education and the industry.
By recognizing its role in preparing tomorrow’s workforce and aligning it with the industry and career outlooks, the ecosystem values the synergy and continuum of the core partnerships and welcomes opportunities for the new developments. Driven by the forward-looking nature of the STEM-related fields, New Jersey North EcosySTEM seeks innovative approaches in creating curricular and extra-curricular learning experiences for students of all ages.
NJ-NEST is housed at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ (Bergen County), and will incorporate county and out-of-county partners in Northern NJ and nearby regions.
Our Programs
IBM Academic Initiative program
Bergen Community College (BCC) introduces and educates students in the Enterprise Computing technology by partnering with the industry leaders from IBM, Viacom Infinity, UPS, and other companies. On numerous occasions, corporate partners visited Bergen campus and participated in conferences, led panel discussions, presented Keynote speeches, and collaborated in round-table discussions. A few semesters ago, an industry expert from a long-standing partner, Viacom Infinity, joined BCC faculty to share his technical knowledge and expertise with students by teaching college-level courses and providing them with marketable skills.
STEM C2 Research Summit
To inspire and promote learning through extra-curricular initiatives, BCC conducts a yearly STEM C2 Research Summit, hosting 200+ participants from tri-state area high schools, colleges, government agencies, and the industry. Students showcase their research during the poster competition and get inspired about STEM from attending the breakout sessions and listening to the speakers. Every summer, BCC students complete a 12-week research program utilizing physical and virtual resources of the state-of-the-art STEM Research Center, recently awarded a New Good Neighbor Award by the NJ Business & Industry Association. Every year BCC students get accepted into the NJ STEM Student Scholars program and participate in national and regional conferences.