Blog

The 7th annual State of Science and Innovation took place on January 15th at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. This favorite event was once again sold out. The in-person and online audiences heard from five innovators and one special guest about the remarkable work they are doing.

There were several accomplishments in 2024 we haven't had a chance to share yet. Thank you to our anchor institutions and partners that made this possible. 1st major grant - $13.9M NOAA 1st District Master Plan 2nd District Impact Report published 3rd year of the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub

We were excited to celebrate with Volunteers of America Florida the first birthday of Innovare on February 14th. This special moment recognized a truly "innovative" approach to housing we are proud to have in the Innovation District. You can read Innovare’s journey in a special series by the Tampa Bay Times: The Housing Experiment

2025 marked the 11th year for the St. Petersburg Science Festival and the 30th year for Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's MarineQuest. It was a fantastic opportunity for 1200+ 4th and 5th graders on School Days and 9K+ community members on the Public Day.

In 2016, the City of St. Petersburg joined the ranks of aspirational peers like Kendall Square in Cambridge and Cortex in St. Louis and formalized the St. Pete Innovation District. Eight years later, the District accounts for 9,000 jobs (7% of the City's total jobs). That is an 8.5% growth with 62.3% of the jobs paying above median wage.

Watch the amazing innovators at the 7th annual State of Science

Are you looking for a new opportunity? Join the St. Petersburg Innovation District Team!

Salvador Dalí continues to remind individuals of the practical application of Surrealism in everyday life.

The St Pete Science Festival is looking for volunteers and exhibitors to participate in the February 7 School Day and February 8 Public Festival. This regional celebration of the wonders of hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) is a fun event for all ages.

Tampa Bay Innovation Center at the ARK Innovation Center is hosting an Idea Bootcamp. Typically, their 12-week accelerator program accepts 8 – 10 companies per cohort, but they realized many first-time startup founders that could benefit from the planning activities and tools may not be ready to commit to a fulltime program.

The District's favorite annual event - State of Science and Innovation - is coming up quickly. Be sure to reserve your complimentary ticket. This event features a series of fast-paced presentations by local innovators.

A robust innovation ecosystem is constantly expanding. We are excited for the recent acquisition of Hub tenant VideoRay.

Are you like me? Give me a physical map and I get excited! Maybe its a carryover from the pre-GPS days, but I think it is such a fun way to explore an area.

Kudos to Lauren Bell, the Innovation District's Hub Community Manager, for her acceptance into the Leadership St. Pete Class of 2025. Lauren is a rock star at the Innovation District.

The Innovation District and six partners were recently selected to help grow startups that are working on technology/data solutions for the ocean economy. This powerful collaboration is made possible thanks to $13.9 million awarded by the NOAA Ocean Enterprise Accelerators program.

What are the emerging ideas in urban design and living? Do ideas such as micro transportation, water taxis, and mixed-use development trends have a place in the future of St. Pete?

If you have looked behind the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub this week you will see a new visitor - the HOS Mystique. This vessel is assisting with the deployment of two large spar buoys next week offshore in collaboration with USF’s College of Marine Science and USF’s School of Geosciences. The spar buoy is designed to measure very small geodetic motions of the seafloor in order to better predict earthquakes and tsunamis.

Do you have an innovative idea for the District - a place we are missing, a new use for an existing building, a technology tool... anything? As part of our Master Planning project, we have an online tool available for you to share these ideas.

Kudos to our friends at the USF College of Marine Science for hosting their third Art and Science night. They welcomed artists to explore the marine science labs, do hands on experiments, and talk to local scientists about their work. Their goal was to inspire new pieces of art which will be showcased in an exhibit in early 2025.

The last two weeks of November were packed with amazing discussions about how we can design future places and activate existing spaces in the Innovation District.

The Yacht Rigger is a marine specialist group in Salt Creek dedicated to marine upgrades and maintenance, from rigging, electrical, lithium batteries, custom metal fabrication, air conditioning, deck hardware and much more.

Following a clinical trial, Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital stroke patients can now opt for an innovative treatment called Vivistim, to supplement their rehabilitation therapy and daily activities

2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report ranked Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHACH) nationally in seven pediatric specialties—neonatology, diabetes and endocrinology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and cancer.

A group of 40+ Tampa Bay business and nonprofit leaders, academics, and government representatives joined us on June 24th to discuss the NOAA Ocean-Ready Climate Resiliency Accelerator grant. Their guidance helped us to craft what we hope to be a winning proposal.