Even with an extra day in the month, I am running late with the February newsletter. Its been a busy and exciting time. Last Tuesday we announced a new project - Catching the Blue Wave: Accelerating America’s Ocean Economy. The Innovation District has partnered with Tampa Bay Wave and USF to win a planning grant in NOAA's 2023 Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerators program. We will be spending the next few months developing an entrepreneurial program to grow local and national solutions for coastal resiliency, hazard mitigation and much more.
Also on Tuesday we joined the St. Pete Downtown Partnership for the annual Downtown Development Summit. They unveiled their 2024 Downtown Development Guide that contains an analysis of our downtown core and adjacent Innovation District. These will be useful insights for our soon to be launched District master planning activity.
And because we are go-getters, on the same day we also took our monthly Hub Tech X-change on the road to The Fairgrounds. The group had a great time exploring the intersection of art and technology (and science). We often overlook how are intertwined these fields are. Think about the engineering and CAD design needed for a large outdoor sculpture, the chemistry of colors for glassblowing, and even the graphic designs that many researchers rely on to explain complex findings.
Our February activities also included the annual St. Pete Science Festival and MarineQuest, program review for USF's Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT), Florida Business Incubator Association meeting, and the Synapse Innovation Summit..
Whew! Now that I am writing all this out it makes sense why we were so tired at the end of the month. March brings the Embracing our Differences art exhibit in Poynter Park, our Ocean-Based Climate Resiliency Accelerator planning, Techstars Startup Weekend, and much more.
I hope everyone's March is off to a great start!
Alison Barlow
Executive Director
Last month, the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub kicked off the school year with a lively Retro Back-to-School themed Happy Hour. Tenants brought their families, and the space was filled with throwback snacks, classic laser backdrop photo ops, and plenty of nostalgic fun.
Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay's 3DE initiative connects high school students with local and national businesses, giving them hands-on experience in problem-solving.
October always feels like conference season — a time when professionals from around the world gather to exchange ideas, explore emerging trends, and strengthen collaborations. Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending and speaking at the OCEANS 2025 Conference in Chicago, a global gathering for those advancing ocean science and maritime technology.