Affiliated Centers

The Competitive Sustainability Center in Saunders College of Business at RIT leverages the strengths of both the college, and RIT, to help new and existing businesses, non-profits, and government agencies find and pursue competitive sustainability opportunities. Currently, the center supports $2.5 million in external-grant-funded projects and has active projects in over 15 countries on four continents.  We also encourage our affiliates to publish their findings, and we work with RIT students, alumni, staff, and faculty on competitive sustainability projects as appropriate.

RIT’s ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute educates and trains cybersecurity professionals; develops new cybersecurity and AI-based knowledge for industry, academia, and government; and provides systems and network security services for critical infrastructure and small- and mid-sized organizations. Home to BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in cybersecurity as well as groundbreaking research and major cybersecurity events like the Global Finals of the Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition, RIT’s ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute is a nexus of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence research and education.

The Institute for Business, Government, and Society at RIT, directed by Dr. Sandy Rothenberg, serves as a hub for research and teaching that focuses on the intersection of three of the main institutions shaping the world today: business, government, and society.

The Leadership Academy @ Saunders fosters innovative leadership development opportunities for bridging business and technology, for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students; alumni and employers. The academy is available to high school, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni and employers. Explore Leadership Academy @ Saunders Experiences to find leadership opportunities tailored for you.

RIT's Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction & Creativity (MAGIC) is a university-wide research center with a multi-disciplinary entrepreneurial approach to digital media research and production.  With a focus on Media, Arts, Games, Interaction, and Creativity, MAGIC blurs the lines between art and technology.

Established in 2007, the Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has become a university-wide hub for hands-on, experiential learning at RIT. Through various entrepreneurial business offerings and events, students gain a first-hand understanding of the importance of innovation. Student entrepreneurs work together as they seek to realize their own ideas and projects, bringing together students and faculty from business, design, computer science, arts, and technology.

RIT’s Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) purposely brings together technology, art, and design under one roof. With flexible spaces that foster and stimulate creativity, collaboration, and discovery, the SHED is a different kind of building, designed for a unique campus, serving a new type of student. The SHED houses makerspaces, project team spaces, dance studios, rehearsal rooms, and performing arts theaters.

The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship (CUE), located in the heart of the downtown business district at 40 Franklin Street (the historic Rochester Savings Bank), will help reshape the regional economy and build wealth within the urban community by being the hub for urban entrepreneurial programs and research. CUE provides a viable and successful vehicle to develop a new culture of entrepreneurship in the region, with a particular emphasis on the most underserved populations in the nine-county region.

Venture Creations Incubator (VCI) helps startups commercialize their products and prepare for outside risk capital. VCI offers active coaching by on-staff mentors, educational events, and access to a highly specialized set of vetted partners across legal, HR, accounting, sales, marketing, and other relevant areas, to help the startups maximize their probability of success.