Florida Poly Adds Microsoft to List of Supporters for New Campus

The newest university in Florida has added Microsoft to its list of "industry partners." When it opens in August, Florida Polytechnic University will focus on STEM topics through two colleges, a college of innovation and technology and a college of engineering. Already, the institution has tapped 28 companies as partners to be able to offer its students practice experience in science, technology, engineering and math. The school is based in Lakeland, between Orlando and Tampa.

Microsoft has promised to support the university in multiple ways: helping with curriculum development, participating on advisory boards, offering industry insight and analysis, providing internships for students, supporting the university's foundation, conducting joint research, engaging in opportunities to collaborate in product development, teaching in the classroom, and, when the time comes, hiring graduates. Florida Poly students will also be using Microsoft software applications in the classroom.

CIO Tom Hull said he anticipates that students will receive instruction in several forms: face-to-face, hybrid and online, including MOOCs.

"We highly value the Microsoft partnership as a strategic enterprise software provider for our innovative 'Poly Cloud,' which is an open access, feature-rich environment for our students, faculty and staff," said Hull. "Our Microsoft campus agreement and modern approach to higher education is a flexible, mobile experience for our students, including access to over 90 educational and administrative software applications. This is essential for preparing our students for success in the STEM curriculum and technology marketplace."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Training the Next Generation of Space Cybersecurity Experts

    CT asked Scott Shackelford, Indiana University professor of law and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, about the possible emergence of space cybersecurity as a separate field that would support changing practices and foster future space cybersecurity leaders.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Launches Claude for Education

    Anthropic has announced a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

  • AI microchip, a cybersecurity shield with a lock, a dollar coin, and a laptop with financial graphs connected by dotted lines

    Survey: Generative AI Surpasses Cybersecurity in 2025 Tech Budgets

    Global IT leaders are placing bigger bets on generative artificial intelligence than cybersecurity in 2025, according to new research by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

  • university building surrounded by icons for AI, checklists, and data governance

    Improving AI Governance for Stronger University Compliance and Innovation

    AI can generate valuable insights for higher education institutions and it can be used to enhance the teaching process itself. The caveat is that this can only be achieved when universities adopt a strategic and proactive set of data and process management policies for their use of AI.