Florida High Tech Corridor

Florida High Tech Corridor

Major corporate players in the Corridor include G.E. Power Systems, Harris Corporation, Jabil Circuit, Mitsubishi Power Systems, Raytheon Systems Co. and Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., among others.  Even more significant are the small companies and start-ups throughout the 23-county region developing revolutionary advancements in the field.  UF spin-out, Sinmat (http://www.sinmat.com) is applying the company’s tested methods to make robust, resilient semiconductors, while Planar Energy Devices (http://www.planarenergy.com) in Orlando is creating next generation batteries that are lighter, more durable and longer-lasting.  Both have taken advantage of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s Matching Grants Research Program to advance their technologies.

The partnerships forged by these companies and institutions create a dynamic atmosphere for progress in the Corridor’s microelectronics and nanotechnology sector.

About The Florida High Tech Corridor Council:
The Florida High Tech Corridor Council was established by the Legislature in 1996 to attract, retain and grow high tech industry and to help develop the workforce to support those industries in the 21-county service areas of the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida. In January 2005, the Council welcomed the University of Florida as a full partner of this unique economic development initiative, merging the strengths of three world-class universities and bringing the number of Corridor counties to 23.

The Corridor Council is a partnership involving more than 20 local and regional economic development organizations (EDOs) and 14 community colleges serving the 23-county region. The Council itself is made-up of the presidents of the three state universities, the presidents of two of the community colleges who serve on a rotating basis, the president of the Florida Institute of Technology, and up to 24 representatives of high tech industry. Those partnerships have resulted in a strategic approach to high tech economic development that involves matching funds research, workforce development, cultivation of technology communities and a marketing program leveraging governmental, EDO, and corporate budgets on a regional rather than local basis.

Corridor partners cooperate to identify and initiate pro-industry legislative and tax incentives, develop and provide innovative credit and non-credit training programs, and invest in infrastructure-building projects to increase Florida’s strength as a nationally-recognized, high-technology region. Since 1996, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council has partnered with more than 250 companies on 800 research projects. The Council’s investment of more than $50 million has contributed to more than $170 million in total research that has been used to retain more than 1,500 graduate and doctoral students.

The high technology focus areas of the Council are based on key strengths of the universities, and include:

• Agrictechnology
• Aviation & Aerospace
• Biotechnology
• Digital Media & Interactive Entertainment
• Financial Services
• Information Technology
• Life Sciences & Medical Technologies
• Manufacturing Design
• Marine Technologies
• Microelectronics & Nanotechnology
• Modeling, Simulation & Training
• Optics & Photonics
• Sustainable Energy
• Telecommunications

(courtesy - Phil Vogel)