A Birmingham-based non-profit organization designed to promote student entrepreneurs is expanding its reach with a collaboration in New York City.

Officials with the 2150 Center for Innovation, Commercialization & Growth, an initiative of Miles College, have announced an expansion in New York with the new Infrastructure iLAB Public-Private Partnership Knowledge Center.

The 2150 Center was launched by Miles College last year as a business and innovation collaborative designed to expand to institutions around the country.

Miles is a private historically Black liberal arts college in Fairfield, just west of Birmingham.

The new iLab will serve as a collaborative hub for students, faculty, corporate leaders and government partners to explore economic development and entrepreneurship.

“We’re creating a space where students and industry leaders can co-design real-world solutions,” said Erskine “Chuck” Faush, CEO at the 2150 Project. “This iLab will prepare HBCU talent to lead on the front lines of infrastructure innovation and unlock new opportunities through strategic partnerships.”

The goal is to make mentorship more scalable, personalized, and accessible across campuses.

Students from several colleges last week traveled to New York to see first-hand the expanded offerings of public-private collaboration and product commercialization.

The young entrepreneurs were also hosted by Elias Alcantara, vice president of Macquarie Group, and a former White House senior associate director of intergovernmental affairs. Macquarie is an Australian-based banking and finance group with a major presence in the heart of New York.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to contribute valuable insights, fresh ideas, and diverse perspectives to help expand the iLab concept,” said Jasmine Russell, a rising senior in psychology at Miles College.

Students and professors from several universities will continue to gather for campus sessions over the semester and reconvene with industry professionals to present findings.

“The highlight was collaborating with other thought leaders aiming to bring innovative solutions to the forefront of a competitive global knowledge economy,” said Skyller Walkes, a professor at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa.

The expanded lab comes just months after the debut of the Public Policy iLab in May in Washington, D.C.

“This iLab model convenes and curates the best and brightest minds to problem solve and build businesses,” Faush said at the time.