Thursday, August 17:
University of South Florida –
Dr. Judy Genshaft Honors College,
“USF Connect” Student Incubator, &
Muma College of Business Nault Center for Entrepreneurship - Tampa
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After a quick journey across Central Florida to the West Coast, the group spent the entire afternoon on the campus of the University of South Florida. These encounters were designed to introduce the Tech Talent team to the opportunities for STEM research, innovation and entrepreneurship at the university level.
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Over the past 20 years, USF has transitioned into a major Research 1 institution and was designated a "Preeminent State Research University" by the Florida Board of Governors in June of 2018, one of only three in the state. In 2023, USF joined the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), becoming the first public university in Florida to join the AAU since 1985 and one of only two institutions from the State University System of Florida to serve as an AAU member. The Tampa campus is one of the nation’s top public research university campuses and one of only 65 public research university campuses classified by the Carnegie Foundation as both a Doctoral University with “Very High Research Activity” and as a “Community Engaged” institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. USF is among the top 15 U.S. public universities and top 25 universities worldwide for granted U.S. patents according to the Intellectual Property Owners Association/NAI (2022), and has ranked in the top 15 among public universities for U.S. patents granted for the 10th consecutive year.
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Introducing the university was a team from the Judy Genshaft Honors College, which combines the resources of one of the nation's top research universities with the personal attention and close-knit community you'd expect from a smaller, private institution. Daniel Woods, Student Engagement Coordinator at the Honors College (and former World Partnerships intern), gave insights into this unique learning environment of the shared values of intellectual curiosity, global citizenship, and service. Dr. Michael Cross, Professor of Applied Physics, engaged the students about how to translate scientific advances in the lab into services, products, and policies accessible to the greater community.
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Then we were off to the USF Student Innovation Incubator, an on-campus partnership between the Nault Center for Entrepreneurship and USF Office of Research & Innovation since 2012. Since inception, more than 100 student companies have been nurtured, accelerated, and launched. These new ventures create opportunities for students and recent alumni to chart their own careers. The new businesses create employment opportunities for the student founders and the community. Ms. Sujie Chen, Incubator program manager, answered questions about student opportunities in the Innovation Incubator. In the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, student saw the process by which Gatorade was invented!
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Our final stop at USF was the Nault Center for Entrepreneurship, where program planner Frank Nunez discussed the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, and gave the Tech Talent team an opportunity to “pitch” their inventions.
The session ended with a pledge to create a more formal mentoring collaboration between Al Nayzak and the USF Nault Center! |