Innovate Together connects SPC faculty and middle school students

College of Computer and Information Technology

SPC’s College of Computer and Information Technology faculty participated in Innovate Together with Bay Point Middle School and Cisco Systems Inc. The program allowed students to identify problems affecting their communities, conduct research to demonstrate it, develop solutions, and effectively communicate their solutions.

Innovate Together: Solving real-world problems through hands-on projects

More than 100 seventh graders from Bay Point Middle School’s Center for Advancement of the Sciences and Technology participated in this two-day event.

Students were broke up into 16 teams with a mentor from Cisco assisting each one. The teams were tasked with creating projects that addressed social conscious and conservation issues. Some of the problems addressed were:

  • Proper nutrition for children
  • Feeding the homeless
  • Automation that is re-skilling the workforce
  • Affordable transportation

Innovate Together allows Baypoint Middle School students to present their project idea

The Innovate Together event ended with an award ceremony where the top four groups pitched their problem and solution to their peers, faculty, staff, district administration, and a judging panel. The panel included:

  • Laura Malave, SPC Academic Chair Midtown/Downtown Campuses
  • Adrian Tillman, SPC Technology Professor
  • Other community members

The winning team developed a program around proper nutrition, that integrated a wearable component to scan and track food intake and nutrition information. The team also included a gaming component to incentivize kids to use the device for fun and educational purposes.

The winning team won $250 for their school to either use to further the winning team’s concept or to donate to a community charity of their choosing.

Innovte Together students from the top four groups

St. Petersburg offers STEM degrees

Careers in STEM play a crucial role in expanding scientific frontiers, developing new products and advancing technology. Most of these jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher and have an average salary significantly above the U.S. average. SPC is the perfect place to earn your STEM education.

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