6+ things to know in #MiamiTech: News from Brightline, Mindspace, FIU, Blockchain.com, FAU, MDC, Jobox, Moonshot Awards and more

1

Brightline on track to complete Boca, Aventura stations this year

Brightline’s new station in Boca Raton will open and passenger service will begin before the end of the year, the train company said. Boca will be its fourth station in South Florida, following Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach

Brightline says it expects about 1.8 million visitors annually to use its service to visit Boca by 2025. The Brightline Boca station will be 22,000 square feet, with lounges for passengers in the Smart and Premium classes. A car park with 455 spaces will also be opened, with one floor reserved for the adjacent central library.

Brightline also said it plans to complete its new station in Aventura before the end of this year, and it expects to open its route to Orlando in early 2023.

2

Mindspace opening location in Wynwood

Mindspace, a collaborative company, has secured more than 30,000 square feet within The Gateway at Wynwood, the Tel Aviv-based company announced. It will be the company’s first location, and the 435-job facility on the sixth floor of Gateway is expected to open next year. It will be Mindspace’s first location in Miami.

“Flexible offices are on the rise and Mindspace is on a growth trajectory,” Zakai said, adding that the company is doubling its office portfolio by 2022 across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the US.

Mindspace is a global premium flex office provider with 40 locations in over 20 cities worldwide, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington and Washington DC. Mindspace Gateway will offer an on-site parents’ room, a podcast room, shared access to the outdoor terrace and to the roof terrace on the top floor.

Inside The Gateway at Wynwood, Mindspace will join Keith Rabois-led startup OpenStore, crypto company Ripple, biopharma company Veru and brokerage Marcus & Millichap.

WeWork counts Miami as its best market and is in talks to open two new locations after giving up a location at 830 Brickell. Another competitor, Industrious, plans to open locations in West Palm Beach, Aventura and Miami Beach, the Commercial Observer reported.

3

FIU collaborates with Blockchain.com for Web3 education

Florida International University has partnered with cryptocurrency platform Blockchain.com to expand Web3 and cryptocurrency education at the university.

Through FIU’s Innovative Education and Student Success initiatives, the partnership will help identify new opportunities for students interested in technology and Web3 through intentional curriculum, co-curricular and continuing education programming and courses, demonstrating Blockchain.com’s commitment to education and accessibility.

Over the next two years, Blockchain.com projects a local workforce of hundreds of employees. With FIU enrolling approximately 56,000 students across the university’s 190 programs, the university serves as a key pipeline and significant partner for talent development and student success.

Increasing demand from students and graduates seeking careers in technology has doubled FIU’s enrollment in computing and information technology majors in the past five years. Nationally, experts predict that computing and information technology jobs will grow 13% by 2030, resulting in more than 650,000 jobs. Since moving its headquarters to Miami, Blockchain.com has single-handedly doubled its workforce and has hired locals across South Florida’s top universities, including FIU.

During the 2022-2023 school year, students, alumni and community members will have the chance to connect and explore opportunities including internships, workshops and guest lectures through this partnership. More details about these opportunities and the partnership between Blockchain.com and FIU will be shared this fall.

4

FAU lands in NSF grants for ‘smart’ street images

Florida Atlantic University’s Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering (I-SENSE) and the College of Engineering and Computer Science have been awarded a major National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center grant with Columbia University, Rutgers University, University of Central Florida and Lehman College.

The new Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) will be supported for five years with $26 million; renewable for an additional five years, for a total of up to $52 million. The program is NSF’s flagship engineering program to catalyze convergent research to address large-scale societal challenges. FAU President John Kelly said: “CS3 will provide important avenues for universities, government, industry and community actors to collaboratively improve quality of life, increase social justice and stimulate economic development through innovative and cutting-edge smart city technologies.”

The nation’s streetscape – neighborhood streets, sidewalks and public spaces – are prime locations for the deployment of engineering research to strengthen society. A “smart streetscape” can instantly sense human behavior and guide disabled pedestrians, collect trash, control pests, augment emergency services, and protect people from environmental and health threats. At FAU, CS3 builds on a long-standing partnership with the City of West Palm Beach, developed through the West Palm Beach Mobility Intelligence Project, led by FAU’s I-SENSE. Launched in 2019, and supported through the City of West Palm Beach, the Knight Foundation and the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, the pedestrian mobility sensor project plays a central role in CS3.

5

A double portion of opportunities at MDC Tech for students, alumni

• Miami Dade College’s School of Engineering and Technology has established the Javier Coto Scholarship in honor of the late MDC professor Javier Coto. Funded by Miami-Dade County, the scholarship is available to students enrolling in technology courses in the fall, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, the Internet of Things, app development and more. Eligible students must be residents of Miami-Dade County, have applied for financial aid and be enrolled in select technology courses. Recipients will receive a tuition refund. EnTec is a component of MDC Tech, a gateway to connect students, community members and employers with technology offerings at MDC. For more information about the scholarship, learn more here or contact [email protected].
• Also, Correlation One’s Data Science for All (DS4A) program is open for applications. This program helps to start, redirect and develop a new computer-oriented career. Graduates are linked to tomorrow’s jobs in technology, and they receive credits towards the bachelor’s degree in data analysis at Miami Dade College. The program is free and specifically looks for students from Hispanic, Black, or other underrepresented ethnicities or backgrounds. For MDC students/alumni who are interested, make sure you include in your application that you study or studied at MDC. The deadline to apply is 2 September. Learn more here.

READ MORE: MDC, FIU, FAU and PBSC awarded $6.2 million in state funding to train students for cybersecurity demand

6

More #MiamiTech news of note

• Jobox.ai, a software company that provides home service marketplaces with an AI-based infrastructure to connect their customers directly with skilled professionals, announced its partnership with Pop-A-Lock, a locksmith franchise, to help locksmiths get and manage jobs, send job referrals to other pros, and take control of payments and weekly settlements through Jobox’s automated technology including distribution of referral fees, reports and more. Jobox also recently announced partnerships with Stripe to offer business accounts to help pros streamline money management, and with NEXT Insurance, to give Jobox users access to personal insurance. Jobox operates the business of more than 6,000 professionals in 39 states across the US and has processed more than $1B in transactions on its platform.
• Twenty-one companies from Florida, Georgia and Alabama have been selected as finalists for the 2022 Cade Prize for Innovation. Among those competing for $64,000 in prize money are Boca Raton-based Neptuna Ocean Power, Miami-based Ambulero, Coral Gables-based Coflow Jet Wind Turbines and Pinecrest-based Portable Solar. The winners will be announced on September 29. The annual competition — which celebrates early-stage inventions — is the cornerstone initiative of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, which is named for Dr. James Robert Cade, Gatorade’s lead inventor. Learn more here.
• Fetch is now available in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Founded in 2017 in Atlanta, Fetch is the first peer-to-peer truck rental company to enable instant contactless truck rental. Fetch offers vans, trucks and pickups on an hourly, daily and weekly basis. Fetch enables customers to skip the counter and unlock their rental car or van from their mobile device. “Given the expansive economic growth across Florida, we are thrilled to bring Fetch’s unique contactless truck rental service to Florida,” said Adam Steinberg, CEO of Fetch.