For the tenth year running, FIU came on strong as a sponsor and exhibitor at the buzzing tech conference known as eMerge Americas. The global gathering on Miami Beach welcomed 20,000+ entrepreneurs, investors and everyone else looking to learn about the latest innovations in technology, business and more.
On offer at FIU’s 305-themed pavilion: an immersive experience in augmented reality, compliments of CARTA, that had visitors creating digital avatars of themselves; a dog-inspired robot controlled by a College of Engineering and Computing student; a talk by a College of Business professor on the ways that “age technology” and AI are transforming health care.
And nearby, on the conference LaunchPad Stage, an FIU undergraduate served on the “rising stars” panel – a group of individuals who had previously received special recognition from eMerge Americas – that highlighted the perspectives of the next generation regarding the role of technology in the workplace.
Senior Lina Henriquez was thrilled to represent FIU. A business student specializing in data analytics, she has participated in StartUP FIU programming and served as a research intern at MIT. Henriquez believes that providing a forum for young people demonstrated that organizers understand the value of the talent coming out of FIU and other local universities.
“Students are always on top of the latest, the newest and we’re very open to try and explore and experiment with different methodologies and different technologies,” she said. “We have no preconditions.”
Amidst the flurry of activity, meaningful connections were made as attendees met FIU leaders such as President Kenneth A. Jessell, the deans of CARTA and CASE, the head of StartUP FIU and folks from the business school, who answered questions and shared information about up-to-the-minute academic programs heavily invested in the most-pressing topics surrounding technology today.
“The STEM-designated programs in business analytics and cybersecurity risk management are in areas that impact every business. You have to understand what the data is telling you,” said William Hardin, dean of FIU Business. “Anytime you hear anything about the future, what’s going to happen with business and business decision-making, we start with ‘what data do we have, what data do we need and how do we use that data.’”
Drawn to FIU’s bright, welcoming space were not only professionals seeking to augment their knowledge and interact with university experts but youngsters attracted by the eye-catching Panther head that loomed high in the the middle of the expo hall.
“They actually told me, ‘Lets go to the FIU booth,” said Marlene Garcia, a parent who chaperoned a group of honor roll students from Mater Brickell Academy. "They’re familiar with the university, and they wanted to come check it out.” One of the boys confirmed the same after taking a spin on the AR avatar-maker. “It was really cool,” he said.
