The Stage is Set for Miami to Lead in Talent and Innovation

How a talented future workforce can drive innovation and catapult Miami as a global (climate) tech hub

Featured Content:
Read the op-ed by Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega and The Beacon Council CEO Rodrick Miller: How a better educated Miami-Dade workforce leads to economic growth. 

Watch Beacon Council’s panel at eMerge on the business of climate resilience.  

Talent is central to Miami becoming a global – and thriving – tech hub. To help get us there, efforts are underway to increase and align higher education across South Florida. 

“A diverse and talented workforce drives innovation and helps attract greater business investment,” writes Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega and The Miami-Dade Beacon Council CEO Rodrick Miller in an opinion piece that first ran in The Miami Herald. “We know in today’s knowledge-driven economy that the power of knowledge brings opportunity, and educational attainment directly correlates to income and prosperity.”

The piece was a look ahead – at Miami’s future workforce in 2040. Pumariega and Miller are members of the Academic Leaders Council (ALC), with Pumariega as Chair. The ALC is within Opportunity Miami, a Beacon Council initiative. 

The ALC has recently set an ambitious target outlined in the 2040 Talent Goals Report: increase the number of adults with an associates degree or higher from 45.5% today to 65% by 2040. It’s a 20% jump over the next 16 years, a target that the leaders in education from Miami are collectively working to reach. The members of the ALC are Miami Dade College, Florida International University, University of Miami, Florida Memorial University, St. Thomas University, Barry University, plus the superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools. 

TALENT & INNOVATION AT EMERGE AMERICAS

The importance of talent and innovation have been center stage during our busy tech season, including at eMerge Americas which featured two days of startups pitching to panels with local government leaders. 

“We want to empower a local workforce to have the skills and the resources that everybody here needs so they can be ready for these new high-paying jobs of tomorrow in the new economy,” Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava said on the opening day of the tech conference. 

To achieve that goal, her office has established a Future Ready Miami-Dade Scholarship with Miami Dade College that provides free associate’s degrees for residents entering college for the first time or are a graduating dual enrollee. Four hundred scholarships have been offered so far, and Mayor Cava said the goal is to expand the program to continue empowering a local workforce for the future with the skills and resources to succeed in the new economy. 

“In this future-ready economy, we also must support the businesses that are fueling the growth and we must have the capital and the skilled local talent that they need to become the next billion dollar companies,” Mayor Cava said on how to capitalize on and promote that economic growth. 

Now in its tenth year, eMerge has helped to generate $2.6 billion and over 10,000 predominantly high-wage jobs across Florida, CEO Melissa Medina told Refresh Miami. 

MIAMI AS A CLIMATE TECH HUB

Much of that growth is reflected in the climate tech space, highlighted by the county’s new ClimateReady Tech Hub (the U.S. Department of Commerce named Miami the only climate tech hub in the country). 

The private sector is already changing the narrative, and playing a major role in turning the region into a climate-centric tech hub with companies such as Miami-based Kind Designs, which uses 3D-printed sea walls as a solution to rising sea levels, and was a crowd favorite at last years eMerge conference. (You can catch the beginnings of Kind Designs as it tested its first printer from last July here).  

Freeman, who was on a panel hosted by The Beacon Council at eMerge, said they installed the world's first 3D printed sea walls in Miami two months ago.

The company is helping to establish South Florida as a leader in green reliving shoreline technology, said Galen Treuer who leads Climate Tech and Economic Innovation for Miami-Dade County and was also on the panel with Freeman. He emphasized the need for the private sector and the County to work together. 

“We’re bringing in all this innovation, and we really do need to bring all the players together because the private sector can’t do this alone,” Treuer said. 

One aspect distinguishing Miami from the rest of the tech hubs is its proximity and relationship with the colleges and universities and being able to tap into their research facilities.  

“If we can do this more efficiently and more effectively, we can raise the quality of sea walls,” Treuer added. “But now we need the data to prove that it works and to show you can get value for it.” 

You can watch the entire panel from eMerge here.

OUR OWN INNOVATION AUTHORITY

The Miami-Dade Innovation Authority (MDIA) invests in startups across the county through its program called the Public Innovation Challenge where they partner with economic engines to solve problems that are “ripe for disruption, ripe for innovation, ripe for technology,” said Leigh-Ann Buchanan who leads the MDIA with a focus on healthcare, housing, climate, mobility, and talent. 

The MDIA has also launched three public challenges in less than a year: Sargassum, PortMiami, and Miami International Airport. The MDIA invests $100,000 into startups that can improve the quality of life for Miamians and help the local government “identify and accelerate the rate that startups, the technology that solves public challenges actually get deployed.” 

“The sweetener to the deal is we actually help them pilot their technology with the government,” she said at eMerge. “We are there to facilitate that process.”

So far, the MDIA has invested in six companies with another four on the way. 

“There is a ton going on,” added Galen at another panel discussion. “We’re really in a shift moment where we are making a difference through the collaborations that are happening. It’s really right – right now.” 

We invite you to join us at The Beacon Council for our next event on May 14th with Miami Homes For All, which will share a new analysis that details the amount and type of funding needed to greatly accelerate the growth of low-cost housing in Miami-Dade. 

You can register here for the event. 

To learn more about addressing Miami’s housing crisis, read our Thread with Miami Homes For All here.

PITCH US 

You can pitch us ideas to feature on our platform by sending us an email to next@opportunity.miami. We invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch our Interview and On Site video series featuring leaders shaping Miami's future. Please also follow us on our social media channels. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe by clicking here. And if you are new to Opportunity Miami, you can learn about our mission and work here.

Happy tech month!

~ Suzette