St. Petersburg : Innovation + Job News

The Tampa Bay Partnership has decided to target market four industry sectors identified in the Regional Business Plan as industries that provide high-wage, sustainable job growth opportunities, thus shedding light on the Tampa Bay region as an incubator for healthcare innovation.

The goal is to ensure that Tampa Bay, which accounted for 41 percent of the state’s job growth in 2012, is recognized as one of the nation’s hubs for medical innovation. The industry of applied medicine and human performance leads the region’s target sectors, adding more than 7,000 jobs since 2009.

The applied medicine and human performance industry incorporates core clusters of medical technology and research, including senior health and wellness, personalized medicine, clinical trials, medical instruments and devices, health information technology and bioinformatics.

“Our target sectors have performed better than jobs in Tampa Bay, better than jobs in Florida, and better than jobs in the nation as a whole. The wages in these jobs are higher, and these jobs create more spin-off jobs,” says Dave Sobush, VP of regional business planning and development at the Tampa Bay Partnership.

Tampa Bay not only has the foundation of medical research and the presence of such large medical firms as H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and revolutionaries such as M2Gen to create a supply chain for programs, but the region also has great technical training for people to work in laboratory settings.

“Pinellas County is among a handful of communities in the nation with a strong cluster of medical devices,” says Sobush.

Several companies have selected Tampa as a base from which they can conduct ground-breaking medical research.

“We realize that we have something and we want to have one broad message to share with the world. We’re a hotbed for medicine,” says Katie Franco, sr. VP of regional development at the Tampa Bay Partnership.

Tampa Bay is strategically positioning itself as one of the nation’s regions to follow.

“We chose target sectors that are regional in nature, and we present the region purposefully to showcase the strength of the region. There’s no place stronger than the State of Florida,” says Sobush.

For more information on Tampa Bay’s Regional Business Plan, visit Tampa Bay Partnership’s website.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Sources: Dave Sobush and Katie Franco, Tampa Bay Partnership

Hecho en Mexico is a documentary about the heart, soul, life, dreams and hopes of the artists and performers in contemporary Mexico. It captures the spirituality, identity, culture and tradition of what it truly means to be made in Mexico.

The film will be featured on opening night of the Sunscreen Film Festival, April 18 – 21 at the Muvico 20 Theaters and IMAX at Baywalk in St. Petersburg. It’s one of 30 Spanish language films that will be screened over the course of the four-day event, in addition to numerous other documentary, feature, short and independent films that span all genres.

The event is hosted by the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Film Society. Now in its 8th year, it has received national recognition and grown to more than 11,000 attendees.

The Spanish Language Filmmaker Showcase is funded by a grant received from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and will feature films from Spain, Cuba, South America, Latin America and other places around the world, all made by Hispanic filmmakers.

Other Spanish Language feature films include: La Gran Facacia (The Great Falllacy), a documentary about the current political, social and economic situation in Puerto Rico, and Girl in Progress, a fiction film about single mom juggling work, bills an affair and her daughter’s attempted shortcut into adulthood.

It's the first Spanish Language film showcase in the Tampa Bay region, reflecting the strong influence of the Hispanic population and heritage in the region.

"Arts play a big role in the community," says Tony Armer, executive director of the Sunscreen Film Festival. "From an economic development standpoint, they bring more to the community than sports do."

The festival offers a way to support the arts, as well as to "enjoy some good films, workshops and parties," says Armer.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Tony Armer, Sunscreen Film Festival

Healthcare firm Humana, Inc. is adding 100 telephonic nurses and health care coaches over the next six months in order to accommodate the needs of its growing national chronic care management division, Humana Cares/Senior Bridge.

Humana began Humana Cares nearly five years ago and acquired national care management and homecare organization Senior Bridge in 2012. The firm created a combined Humana Cares/Senior Bridge division with a special focus on providing personalized chronic care management and homecare services that would help to decrease the number of hospitalizations as well as assisting members as they age.

“It’s a team approach to care. Many of our team members are scattered throughout the [Tampa] Bay area providing personalized services to patients,” says Mitch Lubitz, media relations leader for Humana.

More than 700 employees currently provide telephonic support to members throughout the country, helping them navigate through the healthcare system while field care teams including nutritionists, healthcare coaches and social workers conduct personal visits to enhance the quality of life to those needing support.

“Humana Cares/Senior Bridge responds to the clear need for highly trained advocates to help individuals at risk for multiple hospitalizations to navigate the complexities of their care with a highly personalized approach,” says Humana Cares/Senior Bridge President Eric C. Rackow, M.D.

The company plans to increase the number of Humana Cares/Senior Bridge members from 225,000 to 275,000 by the end of 2013.

Humana is currently completing renovations to add 8,000 square feet to its existing 75,000-square-foot St. Petersburg offices, making room for additional nurses and health coaches as they join the team. Renovations are expected to be complete by late summer 2013.

Humana additionally has a large nationwide commitment to veterans and plans to hire 1,000 veterans and their spouses over the next year.

“As we improve and expand our presence, we hope to make an impact on the economy. We want to continue to look at what the opportunities are across the board for people in the Tampa Bay area,” says Lubitz..

For information on hiring opportunities, candidates may visit Humana’s career services website.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Eric Rackow and Mitch Lubitz, Humana

Students at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) showed off their entrepreneurial problem solving skills in the 2013 CEO Startup Simulation Challenge.

The challenge is hosted by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), the largest student entrepreneurship network in the nation with 240 chapters at universities in 43 states. The virtual competition asked teams of students to take a new business through several rounds of decision-making during the course of eight weeks. Scenarios included what products or services to offer, pricing models and target market selection. All teams were given the same business, and their decisions were ranked against each other.

The USFSP team won first place in the challenge, for the second year in a row.

The university takes a somewhat different approach to entrepreneurship education with a focus on creative problem solving. "That’s what made the difference," says Bill Jackson, director of the Entrepreneurship Program at USFSP. "It wasn’t a mechanical decision. It was getting to the root of the problems and making decisions based on solving those problems."

The students benefitted from the real world application in the challenge, seeing how those creativity and problem solving skills apply to the day-to-day decisions involved in operating a business.

Now in its third year of operation, the Entrepreneurship Program at USFSP is one of the most unique academic programs in the nation. "We’re developing a pipeline of creative problem solvers that may not start their own firm, but may be some of the best employees for an entrepreneurial company," says Jackson.  

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Bill Jackson, USFSP Entrepreneurship Program

The Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay and Bank of America are teaming up to present "Lead Yourself -- Wow Others." The 3^rd Annual Leadership Conference, April 26 at the A La Carte Event Pavilion, offers networking and skill development for nonprofit professionals, board members and the business community.
 
The half-day event is unique in that it brings together professionals from nonprofit and for-profit businesses to discuss common goals and make meaningful connections.
 
"The event is targeted to be a melding of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors coming together to learn, but also for collegial networking,'' says Grace Armstrong, CEO of the Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay.
 
The networking aspect is what most attendees identify as a major benefit of the event, as well as other programs provided by the Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay. The center feels that companies have a lot to learn from each other, regardless of their company type.
 
A new addition to the conference this year is the presence of vendors who have products or services of interest to attendees, such as The University of Tampa’s certificate in nonprofit management, fundraising software company Bloomerang and the Nonprofit Consultants Connection.
 
Topics include: the new wave of entrepreneurship, how to inspire change and strategies for wowing the world. Keynote speaker Jon Acuff, author and CNN contributor, will speak about "The Map with Two Roads," or why now is the ideal time to make changes to your life or business. Donna Cuttting with Red-Carpet Learning Systems will talk about how to enhance he customer experience by engaging employees.
 
"It’s an opportunity to take a break from your daily work while still promoting your business and learning something new," adds Armstrong.
 
Registration is $75 per person until April 5 and includes lunch and a signed copy of Jon Acuff’s book.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Grace Armstrong, Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay

Set to open this spring, Berkeley Manor is adding part-time residential assistants and support staff to accommodate the specialized needs of clients. The company recently added operations leaders to manage patient and business administration activities.

Berkeley Manor is an intimate space providing adult assisted living, including personalized care to patients who face a variety of memory disabilities, including Alzheimer’s disease.

“We are really focused on the individual and having knowledge of their personality while being in a setting to really get to know them,” says Maryann Ferenc, founder of Berkeley Manor and proprietor of Mise en Place.

Ferenc purchased the St. Petersburg home many years ago in order to accommodate the personalized health care needs of her mother, an enthusiastic restaurateur and entrepreneur who passed away after battling Alzheimer’s disease.

Inspired by the essence of her mother, Ferenc hired a consultant to manage the licensing and legal aspects of running an assisted living facility and made the decision to convert the home into a residential space designed for adults suffering from memory loss.

“When people have memory issues, they lose their memory not their personality, but are often treated as though they’ve lost their personality. We work with their likes and personalities to keep those things that make them feel like themselves,” says Ferenc.

As Berkeley Manor is currently developing client-patient relationships, having the right personalized care team members are a critical element in providing an intimate level of care as well as developing trustful relationships.

“It is important that you have people that are going to be right together and help each other to develop the best quality of life.”

For information on Berkeley Manor’s opening and available positions, call 813.253.6473.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Maryann Ferenc, Berkeley Manor

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center’s Office of Technology Management and Commercialization (OTMC) is fueling medical innovations and helping to launch biotechnical startups within Tampa Bay.

Over the past four years, OTMC has launched 13 startups centered on the technological advancement of new drugs, new diagnostics and new devices that will improve the quality of patient care.

The core focus of OTMC is to set an infrastructure to facilitate the launch of faculty startups. By partnering with faculty, staff and industry leaders, medical innovations and discoveries are placed in an environment where technology can be further developed and eventually translated into commercial products that will benefit patients.

“Startups out of Moffitt are providing a number of benefits regionally and statewide. It’s creating new jobs, drawing attention to our region from outside investors so that we can access capital, and it’s also drawing attention from pharmaceutical companies and biotechnical firms interested in partnering or expanding to the state,” says Jarrett Rieger, director of OTMC.

The annual Business of Biotech conference is designed to create an atmosphere for faculty startups to interact with investors and the medical community to help further their success. The 2013 conference, which drew more than 350 participants as well as industry representation from outside of Florida, featured an investor forum, providing startups an opportunity to pitch business ideas to investors while receiving valuable feedback on developmental and funding milestones.

The 2014 Business of Biotech conference will focus on bringing additional business development officers from large pharmaceutical and biotech companies to foster more industry collaborations with the local area.

“It’s a high priority because the funding environment is changing. Academic institutions are looking to continue to support their innovations and research, and one way is to partner with industry. It is a big effort at Moffitt and other academic institutions to forge those types of relationships,” says Rieger.

Several of Moffitt’s faculty members have launched new companies and are gaining traction towards licensing medical technologies. Many startups are raising capital and have partnered with venture capitalists and the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research to help fund critically needed medical studies.

Tampa’s growing medical market paired with technological innovations is a natural stimulant for the Tampa Bay region.

“The larger our presence in the biotech, life science and medical device area -- the more research and innovation going on here, the greater the probability that we’ll be able to attract biotech businesses to our region.”

For information on OTMC, new technologies, and startups visit their website or call 813.745.6828.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Jarrett Rieger, Moffitt Cancer Center Office of Technology Management and Commercialization

As an incubator for entrepreneurship and business growth, Tampa Bay’s community leaders, partners and business owners are positioning the region as a key global market.

The 2013 International Town Hall hosted by the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation provided leaders and business owners with key insights on entering the international marketplace and attracting foreign direct investments beneficial to the region and that also open new trade markets for local companies.

"This is an exciting opportunity for area business leaders to learn more about the international initiatives taking place in Tampa Bay,'' says Jim Pyburn, co-chair of the Tampa Hillsborough EDC’s International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment task force, and director of Trade Development & Latin America for the Tampa Port Authority.

Tampa’s community partners have a strategic focus on global expansion opportunities, particularly through importing and exporting. As Tampa Bay businesses and community leaders explore and prepare for international expansion initiatives, it's essential to evaluate core strengths unique to the region.

"Look at the intersection between assets and opportunity. Trade changes your economic future, not only your pocketbook, but also in job creation,” says Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, whose city was the 2011 pilot market for the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Export Initiative.

Rybak also presented leaders with a community case study that explores key objectives significant to the development of a regional export plan. "If we do this right, it changes who we are. It makes us better able to work together and affects us competitively,'' says Rybak.

As communities make shifts toward global expansion opportunities, it is important to build bridges that focus on leveraging community and governmental partnerships and strengthening business to business relationships that result in capitalizing on the strategies and expertise that have been effective for established local businesses that have traded in other places.

By concentrating on "globalized'' versus "globally interested,'' the region can benefit from fostering relationships among local businesses that have been successful in the international marketplace, and entrepreneurs and small businesses considering global expansion opportunities.

The 2013 International Town Hall workshop sessions gave attendees an opportunity to get advice from such experts as Joe Phillips of OCO Global, an authority on foreign investment and global economic development strategies. It also allowed information share on available resources and key steps involved in the international marketplace as well as valuable insights on trends and challenges businesses face in international business development.

"These workshops are invaluable for businesses considering global expansion,'' says Andrew McIntosh, co-chair of the Tampa Hillsborough EDC’s International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment task force.

What's next as Tampa Bay grows as an international market?

Focusing on building a pathway that others follow by strategically emphasizing Tampa’s rich cultural history, capitalizing on business bridges, and growing the region from the inside-out in order to attract international investments and development projects.

For more information on Tampa Bay's international business initiatives, visit the Tampa Hillsborough EDC's website.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Sources: Andrew McIntosh, Jim Pyburn and R.T. Ryback

The University of Tampa (UT) is joining the national effort to attract, increase and retain the number of women in technology fields by participating in The National Center for Women and Information Technology’s (NCWIT) Pacesetters program.

Launched in 2010, the Pacesetters program is designed to recruit untapped talent pools of technological women as well as retain women at risk of leaving their organizations -- commonly referred to as “net new.” The 2013-2015 initiative includes a two-year fast track program and a collaborative network of senior executives from 20 universities and 14 companies working to add almost 2,000 women to the U.S. technological field.

“Twenty-five percent of IT professionals are female,” says Natasha Veltri, assistant professor of information and technology management and lead on the NCWIT Pacesetters program at UT. The goal of the Information and Technology Management (ITM) Department at UT is to increase female enrollment in the management and information systems program (MIS) from 23 percent to 50 percent.

To heighten that effort, UT’s ITM professors are practicing “in-reach” -- connecting with students during early college years, learning about their career and technological interests, and introducing them to classes, opportunities, industry connections and mentors so that students can explore the field.

By 2020, an estimated 1.4 million technology jobs will be added to the workforce. With 56 percent of women in computing and technology leaving jobs at the mid-career level, women in technology represent a significant value-add to companies.

“We encourage students to learn computing and pursue careers in this field; this way we can address the IT shortage and create a new pool of qualified, educated workers,” says Veltri.

Veltri also reaches to her network of IT professionals who have been successful within the field to serve as role models to students. “There are many female professionals who are passionate about this issue and who want to serve. We can support students considering a career in IT and can share our experiences with them by using our business connections.”

ITM works closely with the business community in Tampa Bay including Tampa Bay Technology Leadership Association and Tampa Bay Technology Forum. They also have an advisory board that keeps updated with the industry’s needs in order to prepare students for workforce leadership.

Each month, the Office of Career Services lists several openings for IT positions. “We don’t have enough candidates to fill those roles,” says Veltri.

“The innovation in the IT field has been tremendous in the last four years, and for us to continue the innovation, we need the right supply of talent. For us to provide our region with the right talent, we have to grow this locally. That way we can attract new employers.”

ITM is additionally working to increase interest and career development for females in technology by partnering with Tampa Bay’s technology professionals and utilizing UT’s Office of Career Services to introduce students to internships and career opportunities. ITM also provides a hands-on technology and computing platform to middle and high school students through their Get Smart program.

“There is a pipeline of talent, and we can contribute by developing local talent to grow Tampa Bay's industries, businesses, and IT field in particular.”

Visit the website for details on all of the University of Tampa’s information and technology management degrees. For more information on the Pacesetters program, contact Natasha Veltri via email or at 813.257.3970.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Natasha Veltri, University of Tampa

Don't have time to wash your car? Citysleekers brings clean to you.

Citysleekers is a mobile car cleaning start-up business based out of St. Petersburg. For $25, a "clean freak" will bike to your car and clean it while you work, shop, eat or play.

"We transform every parking space into a clean car waiting to happen," says Nick Price, co-owner and CEO of Citysleekers.

Customers make a reservation online or by flagging down a sleeker on a bike. Citysleekers also works with large companies for bulk orders, like the Chi Chi Rodriguez Sports Complex, where clients get their cars washed while playing golf.

In addition to the convenience factor, the company is also eco-friendly. All of the products are organic-based, and all water used goes into the mixing of the solution so none is wasted.

"I’ve always had a passion for trying to give back to our planet because we take so much out of it that some things need to be given back," says Price.  

The company takes giving back a step further by donating to the production of wells. They also plan to recycle the microfibers used in the cleaning process to turn them into blankets and other items.

The idea was first generated by Price’s former business partner Evan Brady in a new venture creation course at USF St. Petersburg. The two shared a passion for cars and wanted to find a way to make the cleaning process quicker and more eco-friendly.

Price, an information systems management major, is now running the company and plans to do so for the long term.

The company serves the St. Petersburg and Clearwater area right now, and hopes to expand throughout Florida and eventually to other states.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Nick Price, Citysleekers

St. Petersburg's Suncoast Tiger Bay Club is all about sharing core public and political issues, and they are looking for a new executive director to manage administrative operations, membership and club programs.

Founded in 1978, the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, Inc. is a nonprofit, non-partisan political membership organization that fosters a platform for collaboration and sharing a better understanding of public issues.

The executive director will work closely with the board of directors, the club's president and the chairman to accomplish organizational goals including networking and securing speakers that fit the interests and objectives of the organization.

“We’re looking for someone who has experience in association management, and having a flare for it is important,” says Rick Edmonds, search committee chair.

As the organization’s mission centers on public and political matters, it is also important for the executive director to "have some interest and awareness in politics because it’s what we’re all about.''

The position requires a dedicated 60 to 70 hours per month and includes leading monthly meetings and acting as a liaison to "support the members and the goals of the club.''

Interested candidates may submit a resume and cover letter by March 8, 2013 to Rick Edmonds via email. Candidates may also respond via regular mail to: Rick Edmonds, Search Committee Chair, Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, Inc., c/o Poynter Institute, 801 South Third Street, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Rick Edmonds

For two years in a row, Crystal Clear Technologies has been on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. Since the company started in 2002, it has grown from 5 to 32 employees -- and is still growing.

Crystal Clear Technologies (CTT) is a certified woman-owned small business that provides IT services and data communications to government agencies. The company's services in strategic product sourcing, professional services and IT enterprise help to support mission-critical objectives of the U.S. Department of Defense. The IT Enterprise division is adding several new positions in 2013. Additionally, to support the growth of contractual needs for that division, the plan is to add program managers and administration to its team.

"It is likely that we can grow to 50 or more employees pretty quickly,'' says COO John Lescarbeau.

In the recent years, CCT has focused on maintaining business relationships coupled with strategic partnerships to achieve organic growth. CCT and its mentor partner SRA International recently received the 2012 GSA Mentor-Protégé Award designed for large businesses to support and mentor small businesses like their own.

"We will be able to do about $25 million in revenue in 2013, if not more,'' says Lescarbeau. "We want people to understand who we are and the value that we bring.'' CCT's continued growth, he says, has been a combination of valued relationships and partnerships, consistent performance and innovative hiring.

"We've brought some really talented people into the organization'' and provide an innovative, fun environment where people want to work, he says. CCT recently expanded to a high-tech, 5,000 square-foot building on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg and plans to keep its existing space for future company growth.

For information on CCT and hiring opportunities, visit the company website.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: John Lescarbeau, Crystal Clear Technologies

A new digital artbook features Tampa Bay artists that were part of the Leave a Message exhibition at the Morean Art Center in St. Petersburg in June and August 2012. The urban contemporary exhibit showcased graffiti art, illustration, graphic design and other pieces from artists whose work is a combination of street and gallery art. The artbook contains over 50 unique images as well as artist bios and links to their websites.

The book is part of the Artbook Archive iPad app available in the iTunes store, which features digital artbooks from Tampa Bay and other areas. The initial app is free, with the books costing $.99 each. The app and books were created by HD Interactive, a St. Petersburg company that produces websites, software, video games and apps. Artbook’s users span 32 different countries.

“We’re doing this because we love art and want to promote the arts community,” says Kevin Hohl, chief strategy officer for HD Interactive.

Sometimes referred to as a “new medium” for art, a digital artbook is more than a way to look at pictures on a screen. It’s a high definition retina display designed as a digital coffee table book, where users can swipe through the art piece by piece.  

The first book, Artbook Tampa Bay, was launched in March 2012 and contains 880 pages of art from 86 local artists. There were so many submissions for the first book, a second edition is being created. Submissions are currently being accepted from local artists, with a target launch of March 2013.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Kevin Hohl, HD Interactive

Entrepreneurs and innovators in the Tampa Bay technology community now have a chance to hear success stories and lessons learned from other successful Tampa Bay-made entrepreneurs.

The new quarterly series, titled “Diary of an Entrepreneur,” is part of TECH Talk’s monthly speaker lineup. Now in its 4th year, TECH Talk is a networking and education event hosted by the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. Participants include people involved in all phases of the entrepreneurship cycle, as well as service providers, consultants and established professionals.

“These entrepreneurships have a lot of information to share that’s very relevant to others who are at the beginning stages,” says Danielle Weitlauf, new venture manager for Tampa Bay Innovation Center. “This is our opportunity to get those successful CEOs to share.”

The kickoff event takes place January 29 from 8:30 to 10:30 am at Microsoft’s headquarter offices in Tampa. The speaker will be Mark Swanson, co-founder and CEO of Tampa-based Telovations, a cloud communications provider. Swanson’s presentation, “Five things you need to know about starting a business in Tampa Bay in 2013,” will focus on the unique aspects of starting and growing a business in the local technology arena.

Swanson has over 20 years experience in the technology realm, having founded and grown six multimillion dollar companies in cities across the U.S., including Silicon Valley, New York and Tampa.  His latest venture, Telovations, was sold to Bright House Networks in December 2012.

“It’s great to be able to have these successful entrepreneurs who are also giving back and sharing their experiences,” says Weitlauf.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Danielle Weitlauf, Tampa Bay Innovation Center

The entrepreneurship ecosystem in Tampa Bay is gaining even more national traction with a recent award from the United States Association for Small Business Entrepreneurship (USASBE).  The College of Business at USF St. Petersburg’s (USFSP) Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation Alliance (SEIA) was recently named 2013 Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Program.  

The USASBE, the largest collective group representing more than 500 universities from around the country, supports the advancement of entrepreneurship education. The honor is given to one school per year, and is awarded based on seven pillars: innovativeness, quality, potential viability, comprehensiveness, depth of support, sustainability and impact. USFSP was selected as one of three finalists, along with the University of Maryland and University of Rochester. Winning programs must be less than three years old and demonstrate considerable success through an application process and 20-minute pitch at the annual conference.

 “It really resounded with the judges and the audience that we could do so much with so little, so quickly,” says Daniel James Scott, associate director of the SEIA at the USFSP College of Business.

One thing that made the program stand out is student wins. The biggest of these wins was in 2012, when a team of students won the National Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization’s CEO Startup Simulation Challenge. The challenge involved business simulations with a variety of decision possibilities, and students were asked to select their best decision. The SEIA also features a number of programs that directly connect students with the community.

“This national recognition really brings the spotlight to the region, if not the entire state,” says Maling Ebrahimpour, Ph.D., dean of the USFSP College of Business. “It helps us show students that there’s a path forward here in this region. If they come to school here, they’re able to stay here and be successful.”

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Maling Ebrahimpour and Daniel James Scott, University of South Florida St. Petersburg College of Business