Innovation Gathering: A showcase of talent and tech in North Tampa’s Uptown District

Community leaders in the Uptown District of Tampa will gather Thursday, October 27th for an annual conference highlighting the new developments and key influencers reimagining the family of neighborhoods near the University of South Florida. 

The 8th Annual Innovation Gathering: The Metaverse & You will be hosted by the Soaring City Innovation Partnership at RITHM at Uptown, the North Tampa live-work-play complex on Fowler Avenue that is formerly known as University Mall. The Innovation Gathering, which is free but requires pre-registration, will offer attendees a peek into the future of several everyday technologies being tested and developed in the Uptown District’s research and development corridor. Many key community developments will also be unveiled, and several notable influencers will be recognized for their roles in enriching Uptown’s economic, cultural and social environment.

“It has been a big year for Soaring City’s first-ever entrepreneur in residence, Brian Alvarez-Bailey and his fintech company, Allison,” says Eddie Burch, who serves as “flight control” at Soaring City Innovation Partnership. “Alvarez-Bailey won the first-ever Black Founders Demo Day regional pitch competition this summer and is a member of Techstars Miami’s inaugural class of entrepreneurs.” 

Other honorees include finalists for the Jack A. Kolosky Healthcare Innovation Award, named for the retired president of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and current executive director of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. The finalists include Dr. Jerri Edwards of the University of South Florida for her work researching interventions and testing for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; Anna Giuliano, Ph.D., founding director of the Center for Immunization and Infection Research in Cancer (CIIRC) at Moffitt Cancer Center; and Drs. Louis Harrison and Jason Fleming of Moffitt for their role in creating the First Connect program. The winner of the Jack A. Kolosky Innovator Award will be announced during the Innovation Gathering. 

The event will feature several engaging breakout sessions, including “Minting the World You Want to Live In” by Jennifer Brown of Space Coast Crypto Consulting; “How Web3 is Impacting Business” by Gabe Higgins of Blockspaces; “The Evolution of News” by St. Pete Catalyst publisher Joe Hamilton; and “Minting is Publishing” from founder of Publify Press Peter Lopez, Jr.

Augmented reality dodgeball games by HADO USA will be accompanied by Taste of Innovation, with complimentary offerings served up by Fuzzy’s Tacos, Jaiho’s Indian and Arabian, Jerk Hut, Chicken Salad Chick, LOOK Dine-In Cinemas, Station House BBQ, and Yuengling.

AMRoC Fab Lab will host an open house during the event to provide information on its programs.

For more information about the 8th Annual Innovation Gathering and to register for tickets, please visit Innovation Gathering.