FIU & South Florida Tech

Engineering Bright Futures

Two NSF funded projects help dozens of engineering students pursue careers in STEM

Three Florida public universities have joined forces to help students in computer-related fields complete their undergraduate studies and pursue a graduate education. A $5 million NSF grant allowed FIU, the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida to form the Pathways to Success project (Flit-Path) five years ago, which has already awarded 127 scholarships to academically talented, financially needy FIU students pursuing undergraduate degrees in computer science, information technology and computer engineering. In 2021, the three institutions took it further and established the Florida IT Graduation Attainment Pathways (Flit-GAP) program, which financially helps academically talented juniors in computer-related fields complete their undergraduate studies and pursue their graduate education.

FIU partners with Break Through Tech to increase diversity and gender equality in Miami’s tech ecosystem

FIU’s Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Science (KFSCIS) has partnered with Break Through Tech to develop programs that will propel women and underrepresented communities into technology degrees, careers and leadership positions. Part of the Gender Equality in Tech (GET) Cities Initiative, this partnership also will help expand the talent pipeline that is infusing South Florida’s burgeoning tech ecosystem, which aims at more than tripling the number of female students graduating with an FIU computing degree by 2026.

Computing students, alumni invigorated by growing attention on tech talent in Miami

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation gifted $10 million to the university’s School of Computing and Information Sciences to develop technical talent at scale to meet the demands of industry and South Florida’s booming tech ecosystem. The investment is being used to attract top faculty researchers in the fields of artificial intelligence, smart robotics, bioinformatics, biodevices and digital forensics. It will also be used to increase the number of FIU graduates in those sectors.

Softbank Group and FIU partner to inject new talent into South Florida's tech startup scene

FIU is partnering with SoftBank Group International to prepare the next generation of talent in tech startups in South Florida and Latin America. Under the collaboration, The SoftBank Operator School (SOS) was created and is powered by FIU, Miami Dade College and University of Miami. In addition to traditional coursework, lectures and masterclasses will bring tech startup experts directly to participants.