NJIT Partners with Essex County Firm to Launch AI Certification for Working Professionals

The New Jersey Institute of Technology has partnered with Essex County-based 1st Street Partnerships to offer a new generative artificial intelligence certification program aimed at working professionals and entrepreneurs.

NJIT will launch the four-week virtual program through its Learning and Development Initiative, according to the university. The 20-hour course will train participants on integrating generative AI into their work through applied human judgment.

During the program, 1st Street Partnerships will teach students to work directly with ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney and ElevenLabs across text, image, data and audio applications, according to NJIT. The course concludes with a capstone project addressing a real challenge within each participant’s field. Upon completion, students receive an NJIT-verified Generative AI Microcredential.

This marks the second collaboration between the Newark-based university and 1st Street Partnerships. In fall 2024, the Essex County company helped develop a self-guided AI literacy course for NJIT’s Learning Development Initiative, which is available online for $20 per student, according to the announcement.

Brothers Monk and Ifiok Inyang founded 1st Street Partnerships in 2023 to provide AI training to students, entrepreneurs and working professionals. The organization uses its “Anchored Intelligence” framework to emphasize human judgment and professional expertise as the foundation for developing AI-related skills, according to the company.

Beyond education, 1st Street Partnerships collaborates with academic institutions, governments, organizations and companies. Its partnerships include Morgan State University in Baltimore, Harlem Fashion Row and a luxury premium tequila brand founded by actor-comedian Kevin Hart, according to the announcement.

“It has been a rewarding partnership to watch grow,” Monk Inyang told a business publication. “The team at LDI has been supportive of our work from the very beginning. We share a strong alignment in our philosophy around human-centered AI training, and that common ground has been the foundation of our collaboration.”

The CEO said discussions about the generative AI practitioner micro-credentials began just months after the initial partnership, making this program over a year in development. “To see it come to life, and to have organizations already looking to enroll their employees in the first cohort, speaks to the real demand for this kind of training,” he said.

Monk Inyang described the current moment as pivotal for workforce development. “We are at a moment where AI is reshaping the workforce from two directions,” he said. “Companies are embedding AI into everyday workflows and expecting fluency from their teams. At the same time, we are living through a layoff generation, with many professionals navigating transitions and exploring entrepreneurship. In both cases, AI literacy is a foundational skill required to compete.”

The program targets working professionals who want to use AI tools to build on their existing expertise, regardless of industry, according to Monk Inyang. “The curriculum is grounded in concepts that apply broadly, helping employees work more efficiently and giving small business owners a competitive edge,” he said. “No technical background is required. What matters most is a willingness to engage with the material and an openness to applying it within their own professional context.”

NJIT Associate Provost for Continued Learning Michael Edmondson said the program’s “structured, instructor-led AI training gives individuals immediate, applied experience with the tools shaping today’s workforce.”

Enrollment is now open for the first cohort beginning March 16, according to NJIT. The program is capped at 20 participants.