GE Aerospace Foundation Launches Next Engineers with UAlbany, miSci and NY Creates

A man in a black suit, purple tie and glasses speaks at a podium on a stage in front of a screen that reads "Next Engineers"
On Oct. 7, 2025, GE Aerospace Foundation, UAlbany, NY Creates and miSci launched Next Engineers New York Capital Region. UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez, above, discusses the program to inspire a new generation of engineers. (Photos by Zach Durocher)

NISKAYUNA, N.Y. (Oct. 7, 2025) — The GE Aerospace Foundation announced Tuesday a partnership with the University at Albany, Schenectady’s Museum of Innovation & Science (miSci) and NY Creates to launch the Next Engineers program in New York’s Capital Region. As a key location in the continued expansion of Next Engineers, New York will play a vital role in inspiring and preparing the next generation of engineering leaders.

“We are proud to inspire and train the next generation of engineering professionals in the New York Capital Region, where GE Aerospace’s roots stretch back for over a century,” said Germaine Hunter, vice president of workplace and employee experience at GE Aerospace. “Nearly 1,000 employees help advance the future of flight at the GE Aerospace Research Center where ideas become reality, making it a fitting location as we continue growing our Next Engineers program — a key part of our philanthropic commitment to empowering and supporting the communities we serve.”

A man in a suit stands at a podium in front of a blue screen that reads "Next Engineers"
Joe Vinciquerra, general manager and senior executive director of research at GE Aerospace, speaks at GE Aerospace Research in Niskayuna, N.Y. for the launch of the Next Engineers program.

Next Engineers will help lay important groundwork for aspiring engineers before they dive into their majors in college, increasing their likelihood of success and helping alleviate the critical shortages of STEM professionals nationwide and in New York.

“In order to develop students who are most likely to succeed in engineering, we need to get them excited before high school and then maintain that level of enthusiasm,” said CNSE Dean Michele J. Grimm. “GE’s Next Engineers project does just that — making engineering fun, which in turn provides students with that extra incentive to keep going when the material that they are learning gets a bit tough. UAlbany and CNSE are proud to be partnering with GE to offer these programs in the Capital Region — and we are excited to see where these young scholars will choose to go next as they pursue their STEM dreams.”

Celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and 75th anniversary at its Niskayuna research facility, the GE Aerospace Research Center carries forward a proud legacy of innovation that has helped to shape society. From Thomas Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb and pioneering advancements in medical imaging and power generation to advanced aircraft propulsion technologies, its scientists and engineers are the driving force behind technologies that change the world.

New York’s Capital Region is the latest location to join the Next Engineers initiative, following recent expansions to Bengaluru, India, and Warsaw, Poland. The original Next Engineers programs are in Cincinnati, Ohio; Greenville, South Carolina; Staffordshire, UK, and Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2024, the GE Aerospace Foundation committed $20 million through 2030 to expand Next Engineers and will add a final city in 2026.

Students, families and schools interested in learning more can visit: https://www.nextengineers.org/locations/newyork.