The Senate has designated $1 million in supplemental funding for the Ark Innovation Educational Center at Pinellas County Schools, emphasizing the instruction of IT-related courses to students.
The Ark Education Innovation Center will introduce students to a range of technologies including robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, 3D printing, autonomous vehicle technology, space exploration, DNA sequencing, blockchain, next-generation Internet and more.
The program will be integrated into specific classes throughout the school day. Students will participate in lessons on these technologies and must study and interview for a specific area of interest before their experience at the Education Innovation Center.
The facility will be accessible to students from Pinellas County Schools, neighboring school districts, and nearby charter and private schools. It is estimated that the facility will positively impact more than 6,000 students each year.
The educational innovation center will be associated with Ark Innovation Center, a tech hub with the aim of driving technological advancements. Some examples of innovative tech startups part of the center include those working with the Internet of things, energy, financial tech, artificial intelligence and blockchain.
The current innovation center includes a 150-person event center, an innovation lab for prototyping, a mixed-reality studio, two state-of-the-art classrooms, conference rooms, and co-working space.
Construction for the Ark Innovation Educational Center is expected to begin July 1 and will be completed by July 2025.
Ark Innovation Educational Center in Pinellas County Gains $1M in IT Funding
Students in the program will learn IT skills in robotics, AI, energy storage and more.
