Of 41 University of Florida engineering students who recently completed summer internships on the Gulf Coast, 19 received stipends funded by Gulf Coast Community Foundation to help ensure a successful and rewarding work experience. The internships were coordinated by the UF Innovation Station Sarasota County—the Sarasota-based extension office of UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

The Innovation Station works on several fronts to help build the innovation economy in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Through its Engineering Innovators program, as the subsidized internship program is known, the Innovation Station promotes talented UF students to the local community and vice-versa. The $3,000 Gulf Coast-funded stipends supplemented students’ internship salaries, making the region a more attractive destination for students seeking internships. Gulf Coast Community Foundation has been a key local partner in the Innovation Station, along with Sarasota County and the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. In addition to Engineering Innovators program, Gulf Coast supports an Engineering Innovation minor that helps engineering graduates think more creatively and entrepreneurially. Students who complete the minor and come to work for an employer in the Sarasota region after graduation have the opportunity for some tuition reimbursements.

Engineering Innovators