New Jersey’s 18 community colleges serve 255,000 students, almost all of which are heading into a labor market being reshaped by artificial intelligence. Until now, there has been no coordinated statewide plan for making sure they — and the faculty teaching them, and the employers waiting to hire them — are ready for it.
AI Ready NJ attempts to change this.
This morning, the New Jersey AI Hub and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges are launching AI Ready NJ, a statewide partnership designed to help New Jersey’s community colleges prepare students, faculty and employers for an economy increasingly defined by artificial intelligence.
The initiative, supported by Microsoft TechSpark, reflects the broader mission of the NJ AI Hub, a public-private initiative founded by Princeton University, the N.J. Economic Development Authority, Microsoft and CoreWeave.
The partnership will work on three fronts:
- supporting faculty as they integrate AI into teaching and learning;
- helping colleges build the institutional infrastructure to support AI-related education;
- expanding applied learning opportunities that connect students directly to real employer needs.
Liat Krawczyk, executive director of the NJ AI Hub, explained why the connection to the state’s community colleges is so important.
“Community colleges are on the front lines of helping students and workers adapt to technological change,” she said. “AI Ready NJ gives colleges a practical way to build capacity together — supporting faculty as they test new approaches, helping students gain applied experience and creating stronger feedback loops with employers to learn about the required skills and use cases emerging in real time.”
Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the program is a true win-win.
“By investing in people and institutions alike, we are making sure New Jersey is ready to lead in the industries of the future,” she said. “Through AI Ready NJ, we are bringing together educators, employers, and community colleges across the state to expand access to AI education and hands-on learning opportunities, while strengthening the talent pipeline that will power our state’s economy for years to come.”
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The most immediately concrete piece of AI Ready NJ is a faculty mini-grant program, administered by the NJCCC, that will support community college faculty as they explore how AI can be integrated into courses, assignments, assessments and student learning.
The program will provide up to 100 grants of up to $1,000 each.
Faculty and staff will be able to apply for funding, which comes from the NJ AI Hub through Microsoft’s TechSpark contribution to the Hub, together with NJCCC Pathways funding supporting portions of the experiential learning component.
The goal is not to hand down a model from above. It’s to surface what’s already working from the faculty closest to students — and share it.
“Community college faculty are already asking some of the most important questions about AI and learning,” Linda Scherr, chief academic officer of the NJCCC, said. “How do we help students use these tools responsibly? How do we prepare them for changing workplaces? How do we update programs without losing sight of the core skills students need? This partnership gives faculty and colleges support to work through those questions together.”
Faculty projects may generate reusable assignments, modules, teaching practices, policy examples and other resources that can be shared across institutions.
Beyond the mini-grants, AI Ready NJ also will help colleges develop communities of practice, coordinate professional development, strengthen employer connections and contribute to a statewide inventory of AI-related courses, programs and resources — designed to help colleges see what’s already happening, identify gaps and reduce duplication.
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The initiative’s most distinctive element may be an applied experiential learning pilot developed in partnership with Break Through Tech, a national organization founded by Judith Spitz, the former chief information officer at Verizon.
NJCCC anticipates piloting what is expected to be the nation’s first fully AI-focused version of Break Through Tech’s Sprinternship model — short, paid, immersive micro-internships in which students work in teams on a real business challenge developed by a host employer.
For employers, it’s a practical way to test AI use cases and engage emerging talent. For students, it’s a paid, resume-building experience and a concrete story about applying AI to solve a real problem.
“New Jersey’s community college students have the talent,” Spitz said. “Break Through Tech’s Sprinternship program gives them the opportunity to apply it — through real, employer-embedded work-based learning that signals to hiring managers what a transcript cannot.”
Spitz feels the idea scales.
“Partnering with the NJ AI Hub and NJCCC to deliver this is a model the rest of the country will want to follow,” she said.
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The partnership reflects the institutional weight behind the NJ AI Hub. Microsoft, CoreWeave, Princeton and the N.J. EDA each bring resources and credibility to an initiative that requires more than good intentions to work.
“AI readiness isn’t just about access to technology,” Mike Egan, general manager of Microsoft TechSpark, said. “It’s about making sure students have opportunities to build the experience they need to succeed. AI Ready NJ demonstrates how public, private and education partners can work together to build the kind of capacity that leads to in-demand skills and real job opportunities.”
CoreWeave, which was founded and remains headquartered in New Jersey, framed its support around a long-term commitment to the state’s workforce.
“The state is investing in the infrastructure and talent to lead as AI continues to transform industries and reshape the global economy,” senior vice president Corey Sanders said. “By supporting students, faculty and community colleges across the state, we’re helping New Jersey residents participate in — and help shape — the next generation of innovation.”
Hilary Parker, vice president and secretary at Princeton University said the NJ AI Hub is simultaneously advancing two of the school’s highest strategic priorities — cultivating a thriving regional ecosystem and advancing AI innovation.
“The AI Ready NJ partnership, led by the NJ AI Hub and NJCCC, will play an impactful role in supporting New Jersey’s talented students and benefiting New Jerseyans throughout the state, building on strong and growing partnerships across academia, government, industry, and the nonprofit sector,” she said.
EDA CEO Evan Weiss connected the initiative to Governor Sherrill’s broader economic agenda.
“This partnership between the NJ AI Hub and NJCCC will ensure that Garden State graduates are prepared to enter a workforce where AI knowledge is fundamental to success — continuing New Jersey’s leadership in AI innovation,” he said.
NJCCC President Aaron Fichtner couldn’t agree more.
“Through AI Ready NJ, the state’s 18 community colleges and the NJ AI Hub are working together to ensure that more New Jersey residents and businesses are prepared to thrive in an AI-driven economy,” he said. “The NJ AI Hub brings invaluable expertise and knowledge that will assist the state’s community colleges as they work to serve their 255,000 students, and employers and communities across the state.”
