Corridor NEWS RELEASES

Sanford-Burnham Institute Hosts Region’s Top STEM Teachers at Florida High Tech Corridor “techCAMP”

Educators Explore Life Sciences Field to Motivate Students in Pursuit of High Tech Careers

Orlando, Fla. (April 20, 2010) –Today more than 40 of the top middle and high school math, science and technology educators selected from 10 counties caught a sneak peek inside the laboratories of the new Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute to learn about how they can prepare and motivate their students to pursue high tech careers in the life sciences industry.  

At the one-day techCAMP workshop hosted by the Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC), speakers representing the organizations and institutes that make up Lake Nona’s Medical City provided an overview of biomedical technology and what the future holds for students who wish to enter the field.  Speakers included Sanford-Burnham scientists and leaders from the UCF College of Medicine, Veterans Affairs, Nemours Children’s Clinic, Workforce Central Florida, and the Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement at Florida Hospital.

“These programs give teachers a broader vision of what careers our students can enter when they finish school,” said Dr. Donna Poniatowski, a science teacher at Journeys Academy in Seminole County.

Following the tours of the Institute, Dr. Poniatowski led the group in a special experiment using Sanford-Burnham’s lab equipment to extract the DNA from a strawberry.  The techCAMP program demonstrated this experiment and provided examples of other curriculum-based projects for the teachers to bring back to their classrooms, and engage their students in hands-on educational activities.

The diverse group of teachers selected to participate were named their county’s top science and math instructors in the annual PRISM Teacher Recognition Program.  PRISM (Promoting Regional Improvement in Science and Math) works with the Central Florida School Boards Coalition to identify its honorees.

“This techCAMP provides a fun way to share information about a range of technical career fields with the educators of Florida, so they can assist students in making the best choice possible for their professional future,” said Jeff Bindell, Ph.D., director of the techPATH Educational Consortium and lecturer in physics at the University of Central Florida.  “The workshops help in our mission to cultivate tomorrow’s workforce.” 

The first program of its kind focused on the biomedical sector, this techCAMP is the latest of more than 50 such workshops hosted by FHTCC since 1998.  More than 1,700 educators in the Corridor’s 23-county region have participated in techCAMPs in industries such as Optics & Photonics, Information Technology, Microelectronics, and Modeling, Simulation & Training. 

About techPATH

An initiative of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, techPATH is focused on cultivating tomorrow’s workforce.  Through this initiative, representatives of the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, the University of Florida, local community colleges and K-12 systems develop programs aimed at encouraging students to pursue high tech careers.  The signature offering of techPATH, techCAMPs are high tech workshops offered to middle and high school math, science, technology and career education teachers, to provide information about the industrial sectors that make up the Corridor.

About FHTCC

The Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC) is an economic development initiative of the University of Central Florida (UCF), the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Florida (UF) whose mission is to grow high tech industry and innovation through research, workforce and marketing partnerships.

The unique partnership has resulted in a strategic approach to high tech economic development that involves matching funds research, workforce development and a marketing program leveraging governmental, EDO and corporate budgets on a regional rather than local basis.

For more information, visit www.floridahightech.com.