St. Petersburg College and accelerator Tampa Bay Wave have formed a partnership to expand regional innovation and workforce opportunities.<\/p>\n
The college\u2019s students and faculty will have access to Tampa Bay Wave\u2019s programming and entrepreneurial resources. Learners will be able to engage with company founders, receive mentorship and explore emerging technologies. Additionally, they will be able to gain real-world experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay Wave, which launched in 2008, has supported more than 600 startups. Currently, it offers programs in sectors such as CyberTech, FinTech, HealthTech and BlueTech.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SPC College of Business dean Dr. Emmanuel Hernandez-Agosto began to explore the organization\u2019s work about four years ago. After building a relationship with Tampa Bay Wave staff, he was able to participate in some of the accelerator\u2019s specialized cohorts and provide industry insight to startup founders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to see a lot of the value that Tampa Bay Wave was offering to the community,\u201d Hernandez-Agosto explained. \u201cWhen they decided to shift a little bit more to a retention approach, because a lot of their companies tend to be out of state or sometimes overseas, that was intriguing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hernandez-Agosto and his colleagues saw an opportunity for students to participate in internships or apply for full-time roles at Tampa Bay Wave companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the first things that we want to ensure is that students get familiar with the startup ecosystem,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we are not a research based institution, some of the top talent that we have may not be equally exposed to some of the top research, application and technology-based companies that are coming out in the area.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Tampa Bay Wave partnership will be an \u201caccess point\u201d and provide an \u201cactual avenue to go that route if that\u2019s something that they would like to pursue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hernandez-Agosto explained that many students in SPC\u2019s information technology and business programs are \u201colder.\u201d They are often in their late 20s or 30s. Some are even parents. As a result, most of them already have a job and have developed invaluable competencies. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur students are just looking to transition into a different field and maybe they can translate those skill sets,\u201d he added. \u201cThe opportunity here is to actually give a different talent pool to those startups.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hernandez-Agosto said that the partnership with Tampa Bay Wave is college wide. However, it will be mainly focused on the business and information technology programs. Since Tampa Bay Wave has a BlueTech\/ocean-focused initiative, he added, SPC\u2019s science programs may be able to participate as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SPC leaders will also support alumni startup founders and current students who are launching their own companies, Hernandez-Agosto said. Through the collaboration, they can compete for some of the slots in upcoming Tampa Bay Wave cohorts.<\/p>\n
The college is bullish on entrepreneurship, he explained. SPC administrators plan to apply for grants to \u201ccreate a true regional approach.\u201d The goal is to assist innovators and businesses within the Tampa Bay market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While SPC is based in Pinellas County, many enrolled learners live outside of the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea is not to just serve the students academically with our programs, but also help them fulfill the next step or stage in their lives, which is post-graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n
SPC and Tampa Bay Wave will start the collaboration with a soft launch to \u201cbuild a system,\u201d Hernandez-Agosto added. It will then be scaled over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we continue to grow Tampa Bay\u2019s innovation ecosystem, partnerships with institutions like SPC are essential,\u201d said Tampa Bay Wave president and CEO Linda Olson in a prepared statement. \u201cTogether, we can expand access to opportunity, support diverse talent and strengthen the pipeline of future entrepreneurs and technology leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n