For the second consecutive year, the College of Marine Science partnered with the Florida High Tech Corridor to host five undergraduate interns during the Spring 2025 semester. This collaboration provided the students with valuable hands-on experiences on a variety of research projects, from mapping the seafloor to monitoring seagrass using machine learning.
Throughout the semester, the five USF undergraduates worked closely with faculty, staff, and graduate students from the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT), the Ocean Circulation Lab, and the Ocean Technology Group on real-world research. The students gained insights and skills that will prepare them for future academic and professional endeavors.
The Florida High Tech Corridor is an economic development initiative that offers funding opportunities to University of South Florida faculty, staff and students to support innovative and high-impact research.
“We are exceptionally proud to have hosted these students through the Florida High Tech Corridor program,” said Tom Frazer, professor and dean of the College of Marine Science. “We are impressed by the caliber of the interns and the meaningful contributions they’ve made to our research enterprise. The program offers students an incredibly valuable opportunity to learn and acquire new skills in a real-world research setting, and I'm confident that the experience will serve them well as they move forward with their academic and professional careers.”
During the twelve-week internship, students engaged in several exciting experiences including a three-day research cruise to service ocean monitoring buoys and a COMIT Annual Review, where they had the chance to meet several industry partners and NOAA leadership. The interns were invited for a behind the scenes tour by local St. Pete Innovation District organizations, including Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital’s pediatric biorepository, Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s biodiversity collection, The Poynter Institute, and USF St. Petersburg’s Digital Makerspace 3-D printing lab.
This year, a major component of the internship was working with the college’s communications team to develop science communication skills. Students created a variety of materials to explain their projects—including social media posts, blog entries, and even a stop-motion video—helping to share their work with a broader audience.
Meet the interns and learn more about their experience at the College of Marine Science with the Florida High Tech Corridor program.