Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/297333
Workforce Development The Council focuses efforts on workforce development that span the breadth of the talent pipeline, from techPATH's focus on STEM education in middle and high school to other workforce programs that focus on post- secondary education and beyond. techPATH continued this year to bring educators and students into technology industry environments, giving students up-close and personal insights LQWRWKHFDUHHUVWKH\PLJKWÀQGDFURVVWKH Corridor and providing teachers new ways to share exciting subjects that will lead their students down the right path. A new Corridor program called stemCONNECT helps engage students by bringing expert speakers into the classrooms virtually through Web conferencing. This year, stemCONNECT partnered with experts at Florida Hospital Nicholson Center to demonstrate for more than 350 students at Timber Creek High School in Orlando how robotic surgeries are performed. Additional workforce development programs supported by The Corridor during 2013/2014 include: supporting the establishment of the Sumter County Partnership for Workforce Innovation and Education at Lake-Sumter 6WDWH&ROOHJHIXQGLQJWKHLQLWLDOSKDVHRID research study to determine the skills gaps that H[LVWLQ&HQWUDO)ORULGD·VKLJKWHFKLQGXVWULHV supporting the STEM Alliance of Central Florida, a campaign spanning 10 Central Florida K-12 school districts to strengthen achievement in 67(0ÀHOGVVFLHQFHWHFKQRORJ\HQJLQHHULQJ DQGPDWKDQGVSRQVRULQJWKHUHJLRQ·V),567 robotics competitions. Entrepreneurial Support The Council recognizes the importance of supporting the region's entrepreneurs and growth companies, which is why it has invested in two important programs over the last several years: The Corridor's Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center (FLVEC) and the statewide program GrowFL, managed by the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at UCF. )/9(&ZZZÁYHFFRPLVDRQHVWRSVKRSIRUHQWUHSUHQHXULDODQGEXVLQHVV growth resources available regionally, statewide and nationally. Over the past \HDUPRQWKO\WUDIÀFWR)/9(&KDVFOLPEHGWRDQDOOWLPHKLJKRIPRUHWKDQ 36,000 visitors that were recorded in March 2014. Out-of-state visitors totaled PRUHWKDQLQ0DUFKDQGDOLWWOHPRUHWKDQSHUFHQWRIWKHWRWDOWUDIÀF during that time. FLVEC has become not only a resource for those seeking to start, grow or relocate a business, but also for our statewide economic development organization partners that refer entrepreneurs and business owners to the site through entrepreneurial classes, prep courses and more, expanding its reach and accelerating growth. In order to share success from our partners and further developments, FLVEC has started a periodic eNewsletter, the VEC Brief, distributed to more than 1,700 readers. GrowFL continues to grow second-stage companies in Florida through its Economic Gardening ® approach. It provides resources, mentoring, support and more to help business owners overcome obstacles to growth and achieve further success. Since inception in 2009, GrowFL has assisted more than 700 companies that have created nearly 13,500 direct jobs across the state and contributed more than $2 billion to the Florida economy. During 2013/2014, The Corridor also continued its ongoing support of the region's university-based incubators, which have seen enormous growth and client success, as well as international recognition. After being named the 2013 Incubator of the Year and Incubator Network of the Year respectively by the National Business Incubation Association Conference, both the University of Florida (UF) and the University of Central Florida (UCF) had reason to celebrate again in 2014 when their client companies were recognized. OptiGrate of UCF's Business Incubation Program was named the Outstanding Incubator Technology Graduate and AxoGen of UF's Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator was named the Outstanding Incubator Technology Client. The University of South Florida's Tampa Bay Technology Incubator (TBTI) was also honored to receive four new private wet labs and a renovated common space with new state-of-the-art equipment. The Corridor was a proud partner of the initiative which added 2,400-square-feet to the incubator and better equips companies LQVFLHQWLÀFUHVHDUFKZLWKPRUHWKDQPLOOLRQRIVKDUHGHTXLSPHQW,QODWH 2013, TBTI established the USF Research Foundation's Seed Capital Accelerator Program, which provides its startups with access to The Corridor's Matching *UDQWV5HVHDUFK3URJUDP,QLWVÀUVW\HDUWKH6HHG$FFHOHUDWRU3URJUDP together with The Corridor awarded four companies a total of $175,000 that they matched with nearly $250,000 of in-kind support to be used toward applied research through the MGRP. s p e c i a l s e c t i o n YEAR IN REVIEW 2013-2014 FHTCC Annual Report