SPC and Tampa Bay Wave launch partnership

St. Petersburg College and accelerator Tampa Bay Wave have formed a partnership to expand regional innovation and workforce opportunities.

The college’s students and faculty will have access to Tampa Bay Wave’s programming and entrepreneurial resources. Learners will be able to engage with company founders, receive mentorship and explore emerging technologies. Additionally, they will be able to gain real-world experience.

Tampa Bay Wave, which launched in 2008, has supported more than 600 startups. Currently, it offers programs in sectors such as CyberTech, FinTech, HealthTech and BlueTech.

SPC College of Business dean Dr. Emmanuel Hernandez-Agosto began to explore the organization’s work about four years ago. After building a relationship with Tampa Bay Wave staff, he was able to participate in some of the accelerator’s specialized cohorts and provide industry insight to startup founders.

“I was able to see a lot of the value that Tampa Bay Wave was offering to the community,” Hernandez-Agosto explained. “When they decided to shift a little bit more to a retention approach, because a lot of their companies tend to be out of state or sometimes overseas, that was intriguing.”

Hernandez-Agosto and his colleagues saw an opportunity for students to participate in internships or apply for full-time roles at Tampa Bay Wave companies.

“One of the first things that we want to ensure is that students get familiar with the startup ecosystem,” he said. “Because we are not a research based institution, some of the top talent that we have may not be equally exposed to some of the top research, application and technology-based companies that are coming out in the area.”

The Tampa Bay Wave partnership will be an “access point” and provide an “actual avenue to go that route if that’s something that they would like to pursue.”

Hernandez-Agosto explained that many students in SPC’s information technology and business programs are “older.” They are often in their late 20s or 30s. Some are even parents. As a result, most of them already have a job and have developed invaluable competencies.

“Our students are just looking to transition into a different field and maybe they can translate those skill sets,” he added. “The opportunity here is to actually give a different talent pool to those startups.”

Hernandez-Agosto said that the partnership with Tampa Bay Wave is college wide. However, it will be mainly focused on the business and information technology programs. Since Tampa Bay Wave has a BlueTech/ocean-focused initiative, he added, SPC’s science programs may be able to participate as well.

SPC leaders will also support alumni startup founders and current students who are launching their own companies, Hernandez-Agosto said. Through the collaboration, they can compete for some of the slots in upcoming Tampa Bay Wave cohorts.

The college is bullish on entrepreneurship, he explained. SPC administrators plan to apply for grants to “create a true regional approach.” The goal is to assist innovators and businesses within the Tampa Bay market.

While SPC is based in Pinellas County, many enrolled learners live outside of the area.

“The idea is not to just serve the students academically with our programs, but also help them fulfill the next step or stage in their lives, which is post-graduation.”

SPC and Tampa Bay Wave will start the collaboration with a soft launch to “build a system,” Hernandez-Agosto added. It will then be scaled over time.

“As we continue to grow Tampa Bay’s innovation ecosystem, partnerships with institutions like SPC are essential,” said Tampa Bay Wave president and CEO Linda Olson in a prepared statement. “Together, we can expand access to opportunity, support diverse talent and strengthen the pipeline of future entrepreneurs and technology leaders.”