Story by STEVE TRAIMAN
Photos courtesy of St. Pete Innovation District
Tampa Bay is attracting brilliant researchers and educators who will shape the future, with the St. Pete Innovation District leading the way.
University of South Florida St. Pete (USFSP) offers programs on AI and Augmented Reality, Medical Innovation, Small Business/Entrepreneur incubators, and Marine Science. Its Florida Studies program recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, with new Regional Chancellor Christian Hardigree congratulating the 69 distinguished alumni at a recent ceremony attended by its co-founders and other local dignitaries.
Eckerd College has programs on Cybersecurity, Arts/Theater/Film, and Marine Science with a requirement that all students fulfill a community service component. Interim President James Annarelli has fully supported the school’s leading-edge curriculum in the role he assumed August 2022. The college hosts the prestigious Writers in Paradise retreat in January, led by luminary author Dennis LeHane and other literary celebs.
St. Pete College continues to expand, with classes and certificates focused on future industry needs: Technology/Cybersecurity, Health Services/Vet Tech, and Arts/Music Industry Recording Arts. President Tonjua Williams, a faculty member since 1986, recently confirmed a $3 million-plus state grant for Workforce Development. SPC, which recently marked its 95th anniversary, offers workforce opportunities, including certificates in marketing, healthcare, manufacturing and technology.
Innovation District Update
Alison Barlow, Innovation District Executive Director, told Paradise News, “Ideas can take months, even years to move from a nascent concept into a tangible outcome. Many of the activities we are seeing today in the St. Petersburg Innovation District began even before the district was formed in 2016.
“It has taken hours designing solutions, securing funding, soliciting partners, and otherwise proving that the initial idea is worthy of moving forward. In the Innovation District, where ideas are our currency, we go through these steps daily. It takes patience – and then more patience! When the ideas come together it’s exciting.
“In the last year, we have seen the use of a building reimagined, return of favorites like the St. Pete Science Festival, exploration of District-based workforce housing and childcare, and pursuit of a $160 million transformational grant.
“Repurposing a city building along the St. Petersburg Port, the District has created in late 2021 a shared space where the triple helix of innovation – private industry, government and academia – come together.
“The Maritime and Defense Technology Hub is now home to 19 organizations who are working to grow local capabilities and workforce in the industries of maritime technology and defense/national security technology. The members of the Hub are required as part of their leases to participate in the Innovation District, and to seek opportunities to strengthen St. Pete and the Tampa Bay region.
“They have hosted over 200 elementary- through college-aged groups to learn about careers, provided internship opportunities, held technology exchange events, and mentored each other. To learn more about the Hub go online to www.stpeteinnovationdistrict.com.
“The St. Petersburg Science Festival is one of the major Innovation Center events. It returned to the USF St. Petersburg campus and Poynter Park along with MarineQuest this past February and attracted more than 10,000 fans. The festival was held virtually for the last two years and gave the team a chance to explore how to broaden the reach to more students across the region.
“But nothing beats being in person where you can look into a microscope, investigate marine animals, deconstruct a computer, and more. The Steering Committee is working hard to prepare and is excited to return live. To learn more about the 2023 Festival, including how to volunteer and exhibit, go online to www.stpetescifest.org.
“Many employers in the Tampa Bay region are finding that the limited availability of Workforce Housing and Childcare for newborns to pre-kindergarten is impacting their ability to recruit and retain key workers. Several large employers in and around the Innovation District convened to explore what options they might have to address these issues if they worked together.
“The Innovation District conducted a 30-day assessment of the employer’s needs, current assets, and future opportunities for partnership and funding. The study found that though these topics are complex, there are several possible paths forward. The District and employers are now determining how they will proceed and incorporating options in the new District Master Plan.
New Blue Economy Grant “Many know the term, the blue economy, but few may be familiar with a more recent adaptation called the new blue economy. The key difference is the incorporation and increased importance of technology. More specifically, the new blue economy is a knowledge-based economy, looking to the sea not just for extraction of material
goods, but for data and information to address societal challenges and inspire their solutions.
“The traditional (old) blue economy developed around tangible resources (e.g., food and fossil fuel production) and critical services (e.g., shipping, coastal tourism). Technology served a supporting function at best. In the future, the role of information and related disruptive technologies will take the lead characterizing the status and trends of the marine environment, and how business and government can take advantage of such information.
“The USF College of Marine Science and the Innovation District have partnered with the Florida Institute of Oceanography, Marine Technology Society and many others to pursue a national grant that would allow the new blue economy to flourish in the Tampa Bay region.
“Called the National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine, this grant is focused on catalyzing innovation ecosystems across the U.S. to advance critical technologies, address national and societal challenges, foster partnerships, and promote and stimulate economic growth and job creation. The grant response is due Jan. 18, 2023.
“For each of the ideas highlighted here, there are dozens of others that are still in the forming stage in the Innovation District. Ideas like new facility construction, additional internet access to address the digital divide, and expanded work in STEAM workforce development.
“Eventually some of these ideas will take shape and become real. Others will be set aside because the timing is not right, or aspects are not ready. This constant exploration of new possibilities is the magic that makes the St. Pete Innovation District a powerful economic driver, as well as a lot of fun.”
[Editor’s Note: Special thanks for Alison Barlow, St. Pete Innovation District; and staff of USFSP, Eckerd and St. Pete College for the excellent info and comments.]
Steve Traiman is President of Creative Copy by Steve Traiman in St. Pete Beach, offering freelance business writing services. He can be reached via email at traimancreativecopy@gmail.com.