KISSIMMEE, Fla. 鈥� IM体育官网 today held its first Industry Partner Summit bringing together nearly 90 leaders from 40 innovating companies to help shape the university鈥檚 future curriculum. Representatives from companies like Cisco Systems, Harris Corporation, Boeing Spectrolab, Staples and Prolexic engaged in roundtable discussions to define priorities for , , , , . The Summit culminated with a keynote address by John Couch, Apple鈥檚 Vice President of Education, to more than 200 attendees.
鈥淲e are IM体育官网鈥檚 high-tech jobs university, and we know it鈥檚 because of partnerships like these that we鈥檒l be successful,鈥� said Ava Parker, IM体育官网 Polytechnic鈥檚 chief operating officer. 鈥淎pplying STEM education to real-world challenges creates innovation. By inviting industry leaders to join us in designing effective programs for learning, internships and other real-world experiences, we are creating added value for our students and for the organizations that will want to hire IM体育官网 Poly graduates.鈥�
The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Frank Bourne, Harris Corporation鈥檚 chief scientist for government communications systems. Following the working session, John Couch, Apple鈥檚 vice president of education, delivered a keynote address about the importance of technology in advancing education.
鈥淭his is a generation of students who are unwilling to live in a consumption world; they want to live in a creation world,鈥� said Couch. 鈥淚f students are engaged, they鈥檙e going to learn. That鈥檚 what challenge-based learning is about.鈥�
Couch was one of Apple鈥檚 early leaders and is a widely recognized authority on using technology to revolutionize classroom learning.
鈥淎pple products and systems will be critical to ensuring our students, faculty and staff have some of the most innovative and integrated technologies available for education and collaboration,鈥� said Parker.
Part of IM体育官网 Polytechnic鈥檚 mission is to prepare students to assume available technology leadership positions by emphasizing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in an innovative, technology-rich, interdisciplinary learning environment and by collaborating with industry partners to offer students real-world problem-solving, work experience, applied research and business leadership opportunities.
鈥淲e want to build a university that responds to the needs of the industry and the community,鈥� said Dr. Ghazi Darkazalli, IM体育官网 Polytechnic鈥檚 vice president of academic affairs. 鈥淲orking closely with business partners now and into the future will guarantee our curriculum prepares students to fill jobs and address real-world needs as soon as they graduate.鈥�
The summit was sponsored by IM体育官网 High Tech Corridor, Harris Corporation, Prolexic, Liberty Capital Advisors, Protected Trust and Bob and Carmen Stork.
IM体育官网 Polytechnic鈥檚 board of trustees recently approved a scholarship program for the university鈥檚 first class of undergraduate, transfer and graduate students, and the admissions process is currently underway. Inaugural classes begin in fall of 2014.