USF Research & Innovation and the Florida High Tech Corridor have announced a partnership to provide $100,000 in funding for new projects through the Early Stage Innovation Fund program. The initiative aims to support early-stage ideas developed by faculty at the University of South Florida (USF) that address key areas such as AI literacy, bilingual educator training, immersive learning experiences, and social and emotional learning curriculum.
The four selected projects are led by faculty from USF’s College of Arts & Sciences, College of Behavioral & Community Sciences, and College of Education. These projects represent efforts across USF’s Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee campuses.
Funding will go toward developing a roadmap for community-centered AI literacy education for K-12 students; creating new methods for training bilingual professionals in education; building a virtual reality experience for youth to test solutions to real-world problems; and expanding multicultural curricula to improve social and emotional learning among students.
“Across our campuses every day, USF faculty are developing creative solutions to society’s biggest challenges,” said Dr. Sylvia Wilson Thomas, USF Vice President for Research & Innovation. “This important work supports the breadth and depth of community engaged, high-impact research at USF. This round of Early-Stage Innovation funding was an opportunity for USFRI and the Corridor to highlight USF researchers’ ingenuity around social sciences, design, and education and student engagement.”
Paul Sohl, CEO of the Florida High Tech Corridor, described these efforts as ways to bring emerging technologies into broader community use. “The Florida High Tech Corridor launched this seed funding initiative as a means of supporting promising new ideas from University of South Florida faculty and kickstarting research ideas that go on to become larger initiatives,” Sohl said. “These projects will involve and serve the wider community in unique and meaningful ways, and we’re excited to see the returns from this effort.”
Established in 2022, the Early-Stage Innovation Fund is designed to support applied research with potential commercial or community impact. The fund aims to help innovations progress toward industry investment or licensing opportunities.
Previous rounds have supported developments in artificial intelligence tools, sustainable manufacturing processes, defense technology advancements, Alzheimer’s research initiatives, vaccine development strategies, and infection-fighting approaches.
Faculty can request up to $25,000 per project for research expenses related to further development. Additional details about future application rounds are expected soon. More information is available at www.usf.edu/corridor.
The newly funded projects include:
– A roadmap for AI literacy education in Tampa Bay K-12 schools led by Dr. Fan Yang.
– Training programs for bilingual leaders in special education directed by Dr. Matthew Foster.
– A prototype virtual reality application called “eXploRe a Wonderland of Inquiry” headed by Dr. Lindsay Persohn.
– Development of a social-emotional curriculum for early childhood spearheaded by Drs. AnnMarie Alberton Gunn and Susan V Bennett.
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