Qualcomm Founder Donates $133 million to Cornell-Technion

Irwin Jacobs, the founding chairman and CEO emeritus of Qualcomm, is making a $133 million gift to Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology for a joint institute.

Jacobs and his wife Joan Klein Jacobs said on Monday that the gift will create the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute. The funds will help support curriculum initiatives, faculty and graduate students, and industry interactions in a two-year graduate program.

"This transformative gift will support the distinctive international partnership between Cornell and the Technion that is already creating a new model of graduate tech education in New York City,” said Cornell President David Skorton.

The institute plans to offer a two-year interdisciplinary program in which students earn dual master degrees concurrently -- one from Cornell and one from the Technion.

The degree program will allow students to specialize in applied information-based sciences in one of three hubs focused on leading New York City industries -- Connective Media, Healthier Living and The Built Environment -- while honing their entrepreneurial skills.