| As Metro
Orlando cultivates its reputation as a high tech hub, the employee
base
continues to grow with educated, technically trained workers. The biotechnology
and life science sector in Metro Orlando accounts for approximately
9,248
jobs in the region.
The sector
is able to draw on the graduates from a number of highly-regarded research
universities as the region is strategically positioned in the heart of
the state’s Intelligence Triangle, including:
- University
of Central Florida
-
University of Florida
-
Florida State University
|
- University
of Miami
-
University of South Florida
-
University of North Florida
|
Closest
to the region is the University of Central Florida (UCF). As
one
of the nation’s leading metropolitan research universities,
UCF continues to develop new and expand existing academic programs
that supply well-trained researchers and technicians to the biotechnology
and life science sector. Annually, UCF confers on average 500+
undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in fields supporting
the sector such as: |
- Health
sciences
- Molecular
biology/microbiology
- Health
information management
Orlando is
also home to a regional campus of the Tallahassee-based Florida State
University College of Medicine. The college is a community-based medical
school providing third-and fourth-year clinical training in partnership
with local physicians, hospitals and ambulatory care facilities. The Orlando
campus is one of the university’s six regional medical schools throughout
the state. University of Florida, Gainesville, and University of South
Florida, St. Petersburg, complement the Intelligence Triangle with highly
regarded medical schools and well-established, active research facilities.
Metro Orlando’s
major hospitals provide residency programs that further strengthen the
workforce:
- Orlando
Regional Healthcare offers residency programs in eight specialties,
including emergency medicine and orthopedic surgery
- Orlando
Regional Medical Center and Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children &
Women provide residency programs
- Florida
Hospital Orlando provides a residency specifically for medical students
planning to enter family practice.
The Mid-Florida
Research and Education Center (MREC) offers undergraduate and post-graduate
degree programs intended to develop knowledge in:
- Agriculture
- Human
resources
- Natural
resources
- Life
science
Based in
Metro Orlando and part of the University of Florida’s Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences, MREC conducts research in the biological,
physical, economic and social sciences through partnerships with public
and private organizations.
The region’s
community colleges and vocational training schools have responded
to the
expansion of the biotechnology and life science sector with programs
created to prepare students for careers in the industry. Additionally,
Metro Orlando’s award-winning hospitals provide clerkship and degree
programs to medical students and continuing education on the latest
healthcare
advances to the region’s healthcare professionals.
|
